The consumer price index increased 1.9 per cent in November from a year earlier, with  Black Friday sales balancing higher rent, according to Statistics Canada. Headline inflation was two per cent in October, the bull’s-eye of the range the central bank targets to set the benchmark interest rate. (The Logic)

Talking point: Inflation is fading as a source of uncertainty, as the central bank appears to have successfully contained upward cost pressures. The central bank can’t turn back the clock, however; Statistics Canada said the price of groceries were 19.6 per cent higher than November 2021, and shelter costs were 18.9 per cent higher over the same period. With the cost of living now entrenched at higher levels, the Bank of Canada’s next challenge is to drive economic growth and boost hiring and wages to ease the strain on households and businesses. Expect governor Tiff Macklem to continue to lower interest rates in 2025.