Canada's consumer price index cooled to 2.7 per cent in April, down from 2.9 per cent in March, led by the slower growth of food prices, Statistics Canada said Tuesday. Though food prices still rose in April, they did so at a slower pace of 1.4 per cent compared to 1.9 per cent in March, the data agency said. The cost of meat mostly drove the decline, but other food products that also contributed were non-alcoholic beverages; bakery and cereal products; fruit, fruit preparations and nuts; and fish, seafood and other marine products. The Bank of Canada's preferred measures of core inflation, which strip volatile sectors like food and energy from the rate, also eased — a happy sign for the central bank, which will make its next interest rate decision on June 5. Many economists expect that the bank will start cutting rates at that meeting.
