The Bank of Canada’s preferred measures of “core” inflation—CPI-median and CPI-trim—increased 1.9 per cent and 1.8 per cent, respectively, in June from a year earlier, Statistics Canada reported. It’s the first time both numbers have been below two per cent since August 2020. (The Logic)

Talking point: The central bank aims to keep annual increases in the consumer price index at around two per cent. Volatile items such as gasoline and food make that hard. Take June, when headline inflation plunged to 2.8 per cent from an uncomfortably high 3.2 per cent, as oil prices tumbled after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a ceasefire that has since broken down. To get a better sense of the trend, the Bank of Canada created CPI-median and CPI-trim, so-called core measures that adjust for outsized price changes. The weaker readings suggest elevated oil prices haven’t spread to the broader economy, arguing against interest rate increases to get headline inflation closer to target.