Inflation in Canada was 3 per cent year-over-year in July, as gas prices shot up again and the World Cup drove up the cost of travel and tours.
Statistics Canada says a slower acceleration in groceries helped moderate those factors.
Groceries remained above headline inflation again in July, rising 3.1 per cent year-over-year after a 3.9 per cent increase in June. July marked 18 months grocery prices were higher than the Consumer Price Index.
The cost of fresh vegetables rose 3.9 per cent in July, while fresh or frozen chicken cost another 0.3 per cent. Fresh fruit shot up 6.1 per cent, the highest price growth for July since 2011, as the cost of melons and berries increased 4.7 per cent.
The price at gas pumps across Canada rose 25.7 per cent in July due to the continued conflict in the Middle East, the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, and the partial closure of some Red Sea shipping routes in late July.
Without gasoline, inflation was 2.2 per cent for the third consecutive month.
That conflict also drove up the cost of air transportation since it increased the price of jet fuel. Buying a ticket for a flight jumped 12 per cent year-over-year.
The World Cup also drove up the price of travel tours to U.S. destination cities. Those increased 15.2 per cent after June's 6.8 per cent jump.
Among the provinces, prices in Ontario accelerated the slowest at 2 per cent, as homeowner replacement costs dropped 4.6 per cent, and buying natural gas cost 18.7 per cent less.
Across the G7 group of nations, Canada's inflation rate in July was the second highest after the United States, which reported an inflation rate of 3.4 per cent.
The United Kingdom hasn't released its inflation rate for July yet, but it was forecast at 2.9 per cent. The rate in France last month was 2.1 per cent. It was 2.8 per cent in Germany, and 2.9 per cent in Italy.
Japan had the lowest inflation rate of the G7 nations at 1.7 per cent.
