The consumer price index increased 3.2 per cent in May from a year earlier, as gasoline surged 33.2 per cent, Statistics Canada reported. Excluding gasoline, the index rose 2.2 per cent, near the Bank of Canada’s target of two per cent. (The Logic)

Talking point: The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has caused gasoline prices to climb to the highest levels since Russia invaded Ukraine four years ago and Canadian inflation peaked at 8.1 per cent. That’s why Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem has warned that “consecutive” rate increases might be necessary to keep cost pressures from spreading. The problem for Macklem and other central bankers is that the inflation story is moving beyond the Middle East. Food prices climbed again, partly because of a lack of tomatoes from Mexico, while the cost of computer equipment and software increased for the first time in six years because of the AI boom.