The two main gauges the Bank of Canada watches to assess underlying inflation pressures held steady, while the consumer price index increased 1.9 per cent from August 2024, just below the central bank’s target of two per cent. (The Logic)

Talking point: Inflation is hotter than governor Tiff Macklem would like; those gauges of core inflation, which filter out volatile price changes, continue to hover around three per cent. But it probably would have taken a spike in cost pressures to dissuade the central bank from cutting interest rates this week. Policymakers expressed concern about the labour market when they last met in July, and hiring data has deteriorated since then. Elevated core inflation means the Bank of Canada’s ability to help will be limited, but it might be able to dull the pain as Canada’s economy adjusts to a new trading order.