Inflation rate rose to 1.6% in September, led by gasoline price hikes

Canada's annual inflation rate rose to 1.6 per cent in September, up from 1.4 per cent the previous month, as the costs of transportation and shelter went up.

Clothes, shoes and furniture, meanwhile, got cheaper in the past year, Statistics Canada said.

The data agency said that transportation costs have increased by 3.8 per cent in the 12 months to September, led by gasoline prices that have risen by more than 14 per cent over that period, most of which came towards the end due to supply disruptions from Hurricane Harvey.

• Harvey could hike Canadian gas prices by up to 15 cents

Food prices, meanwhile, have risen by 1.4 per cent in the past 12 months.

Consumers paid3.3 per centless for furniture in September compared with the same month a year earlier. Clothing and footwear, meanwhile, were 2.3 per cent cheaper.

Outside of gasoline,there was very little in the way of an eye-popping jump or decline,BMO economist Doug Porter said.

"Most prices remain remarkably tame, held down by the snap-back in the dollar in the past year as well as sluggish wage growth," he said.

"We already know that pump prices pulled back in October, and thus overall [inflation] is likely to recede next month."