Grocery price growth falls below headline inflation for first time in two years: StatCan

Price growth for food purchased from stores slowed for the third consecutive month in August, Statistics Canada says. 

Canada's annual inflation rate remained unchanged in August, rising 3% year-over-year, the agency said in its latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report.

For the first time since July 2024, grocery price growth increased at a slower pace than the all-items CPI in August.

Grocery prices rose 2.8% year-over-year after increasing 3.1% in July. 

Food prices have increased 29% since August 2021.

Dairy products led the deceleration in August, rising 0.7% compared to 3.1% in July. Cheese and yogurt were the top contributors to the slowdown.

The month also saw smaller price increases for fresh or frozen pork (up 1.6%), condiments, spices and vinegars (up 0.7%) and fresh fruit (up 4.7%).

Year over year, prices for gasoline rose at a slower pace in August compared with July. Excluding gasoline, the CPI rose 2.4% in August, after increasing 2.2% in July.