Economics

Inflation Falls Further in Canada After Retailers Drop Prices

Consumer price index slips to -0.4% in May from year earlier
Stores are reopening but with discounts to lure wary customers

An employee wears a protective mask while working in a retail store in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on Friday, June 12, 2020. Canada's largest province is moving to the next phase of reopening its economy after months of Covid-19 restrictions, but its financial capital is being excluded.Photographer: David Kawai/Bloomberg

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By Shelly Hagan

June 17, 2020 at 12:40 PM UTC

Updated on

June 17, 2020 at 2:59 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Inflation moved further into negative territory as Canada’s retail stores began to reopen from the Covid-19 lockdowns with discounts to entice shoppers.

The consumer price index dropped 0.4% from the same month a year earlier, Statistics Canada reported Wednesday from Ottawa. That compares with a 0.2% drop in April. Inflation was running at 2.2% as recently as February. From April, prices climbed 0.3%, compared with a forecast of 0.7%.