Consumer inflation rose in July as gas prices increased, according to Statistics Canada, with the consumer price index ticking up from June by more than some economists expected.

Inflation increased to three per cent on average last month compared with a year earlier, up from 2.8 per cent in June, the agency says.

The majority of economists polled expected that the annual rate of inflation would rise to 2.9 per cent last month after cooling sharply to 2.8 per cent in June, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

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Gas prices in Canada have been riding a roller-coaster as volatile oil prices fluctuate worldwide amid the Iran war. A tentative ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran helped cool oil and gas markets in June, but prices increased through much of July after the agreement unravelled and the fighting resumed.

The Bank of Canada is aiming to keep consumer inflation within a range of one to three per cent in order to achieve its mandate of maintaining price stability while allowing the economy to thrive.

The central bank’s next opportunity to reassess its benchmark interest rate policy comes on Sept. 2.

— with a file from The Canadian Press

– more to come

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