P.E.I. inflation beginning to level off

The consumer price index did not move on P.E.I. in September, after dropping off slightly in August, but the Island's annual inflation rate remains the highest in the country.

Statistics Canada released the latest consumer price index on Wednesday morning. It shows an annual inflation rate on P.E.I. of 8.4 per cent, compared to 6.9 per cent nationally.

Inflation peaked on the Island in May, when it hit 11.1 per cent. The province has had the highest rate in the country every month since March 2021.

While groceries and fuel oil have been drivers of the Island's high inflation rate, rent has been the item that has most consistently kept the province's rate well above the national average through 2022, with household furnishings also being a factor.

The rate for rent was 11.2 per cent, two-and-a-half times the national average. Household furnishings were up 12.5 per cent, about 25 per cent higher than for the country as a whole.

The inflation rate for food purchased in stores was 11.4 per cent, and for fuel oil 47.2 per cent, with both rates comparable to those for the whole country.