P.E.I.'s monthly inflation rate shrank in June, thanks to lower fuel prices

New numbers released by Statistics Canada Tuesday show P.E.I. again has the lowest inflation rate in the country, with dropping prices for furnace oil and gasoline keeping the lid on costs.

Prince Edward Islanders paid only 0.2per cent more for the standard basket of goods and services compared to May.

The province's annual inflation rate in June was just 0.25 per cent, compared to 2.81 per cent for all of Canada.

The price Islanders paid for gasoline continued to be well under what it was a year ago. Statistics Canada said gas was costing Islanders 24.66 per cent less this June compared to 12 months earlier, when developments in China and Ukraine pushed prices at the pump higher around the world.

Gas prices did rise in early July as federal fuel regulationswere implemented. The overall impact on P.E.I. gas prices will be reported in mid-August, when Statistics Canada publishes the July inflation numbers.

Furnace oil was down almost 42 per cent in June compared to a year earlier, though it's not a purchase most Islanders are making at this time of year.

The pinch at the grocery checkout continued, with P.E.I. seeing an 8.1 per cent increase in the cost of groceries compared to a year earlier. Canada's food inflation rate washigher, though, at 9.1 per cent.

The cost of owning a home on the Island was up 5.35 per cent year over year, in part because of higher interest costs due to rising mortgage rates.

The cost of renting moderated slightly in June compared to May, but is still 2.6 per cent higher than it was at this time of the year in 2022.

The Canadian average for rental accommodation was up 5.7 per cent in the same time period.