ottawaannual inflation in canada rose in october matching the increase in the previous month with the cost of gasoline and mortgage financing driving prices higher measures of underlying or core inflation edged upward in october from september overall the data reinforces the bank of canadas belief it needs to raise its main interest rate further although by how much remains up for debate given slowing economic activity canadas consumerprice index increased 69 on a yearoveryear basis in october statistics canada said wednesday that matched market expectations according to td securities and septembers annual cpi reading annual inflation in canada peaked in june at 81 on a monthovermonth basis cpi rose 07 in october or just short of market expectations for a 08 advance on a seasonallyadjusted basis inflation climbed 06 in october from september bank of canada gov tiff macklem has said the central bank would be placing more focus on measures of core or underlying inflation when deciding rate policy measures of core inflation tend to strip out volatilepriced items like food and energy and mr macklem said these gauges have yet to show clear evidence of slowing octobers inflation report said two measures of core cpi the central bank closely monitors median and trim both edged upward in the month to an average 505 from 495 in the previous month the bank of canada last month deemed a third gauge of core inflation common to be unreliable the bank of canada sets interest rates to maintain and achieve 2 inflation last month it raised its benchmark lending rate by a halfpercentage point to 375  which caught markets offguard as traders expected a threequarter point increase citing sticky inflation data along with the federal reserve the bank of canada has been one of the most aggressive central banks in lifting rates to douse inflation so far in 2022 with one more scheduled decision remaining in december the central bank has raised rates by 35 percentage points the bank of canada said the rapid pace of rate increases have slowed ratesensitive economic sectors and it now expects growth to stall until mid2023 statistics canada said among the main contributors to octobers annual inflation reading was gasoline prices at the pumps rose nearly 18 from a year ago which the agency attributed to a weaker canadian currency relative to the us and a decision by large petroleumexporting countries to curtail production also interest on mortgages increased 114 from a year ago or the biggest jump in this category since 1991 the higher cost to finance a mortgage reflects the bank of canadas raterising campaign annual foodprice inflation slowed slightly in october up 101 from a year ago versus 103 in september statistics canada said the cost of food purchased at stores 11 higher in october increased at a faster annual rate than the allitems cpi for an 11th consecutive month excluding food and energy canadas cpi rose 53 in october from a year ago following a comparable gain of 54 in september the cost of services such as a haircut or legal advice slowed to 54 in october from 56 in the prior month while the cost of goods accelerated to 84 from septembers 82 reading