OTTAWA - The cost of living in the capital is down.
Numbers released from Statistics Canada this morning show the Ottawa rate dropping from 1.3 to 0.5 per cent.
Statistics Canada reports that nationally inflation hit its lowest level since January 2007.
The inflation rate for Canada as a whole slipped to 1.4 per cent in March from 1.8 per cent in February.
It was the fourth month in a row that inflation slowed.
The core rate, which strips out volatile items and is closely watched by the Bank of Canada, was 1.3 per cent last month, down from 1.5 per cent in February. The central bank uses this rate to gauge underlying trends in the economy and it is a key factor in setting interest rates.
The statistics agency said the main inflationary factors in March were higher mortgage costs and rising gasoline prices.
Mortgage costs were up 8.3 per cent. Higher prices for new homes helped drive up overall mortgage costs.
Gas prices at the pump rose 7.9 per cent, but that was well below the 17.1 per cent jump recorded in February.
On a month-to-month basis, prices rose 0.4 per cent between February and March.
While the inflation rate slowed overall, the price of fuel oil and other fuels soared 29.6 per cent between March 2007 and last month, the steepest jump since 2005, when hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico played havoc with oil production.
Homeowners' replacement costs were up 4.8 per cent nationally, but spiked up 46.7 per cent in Saskatchewan.
The price of bakery products rose 9.0 per cent on the heels of rising wheat prices.
The main mitigating factor in March inflation was lower prices for cars, which slid 7.1 per cent.
