Consumer prices rose 5.2 per cent in February, Statistics Canada reported, down from the 5.9 per cent annual inflation rate recorded in January. Grocery prices continued soaring, though, up 10.6 per cent in a year, with cereal and fruit juices showing the biggest increases. (The Logic)

Talking point: You can take the headline number as good (the decline from the previous month was the steepest since April 2020, when the economy crashed into the COVID-19 pandemic) or less good (an important factor is the “base-year effect,” namely that prices rose so fast in February 2022 that it makes this year’s February reading look better). But the inflation rate is definitely declining, which will help the Bank of Canada make a case to hold its key interest rate at 4.5 per cent at its next update April 12, which means less destabilizing change for the commercial banks that borrow at that rate. Rising central-bank interest rates were a key factor in the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank earlier this month and analysts have warned other banks are under similar stress.