Statistics Canada reported the consumer price index increased 3.1 per cent in November from a year earlier, matching last month’s year-over-year gain. That’s the slowest inflation since June 2021, but still off the Bank of Canada’s target of two per cent. (The Logic)

Talking point: The last mile of the Bank of Canada’s fight to get inflation back to target could be a slog. The latest numbers show the trend remains positive. Grocery prices grew at a slower pace for the fifth consecutive month and cellular costs dropped thanks to Black Friday sales, a reminder of how more competition would make the central bank’s job easier. Economist Charles St-Arnaud counted that 49 per cent of the components of the consumer price index grew more than three per cent, compared with 56 per cent in October, evidence that price pressures are becoming more concentrated. But the lack of substantial movement from October shows why Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem insisted last week that it was too soon to consider interest-rate cuts. He said he wants to see unmistakable evidence that inflation is tracking back to two per cent and these data don’t do that. It may require an extended period of higher interest rates to cool demand.