Canada Inflation Cools to 1.7%, an Eight-Month Low

By Robb M. Stewart

OTTAWA--Canada's annual inflation rate cooled in April to its softest in eight months, driven by lower energy prices and the end of the federal consumer carbon tax.

The country's consumer price index rose 1.7% from a year earlier, Statistics Canada said Tuesday. The market was expecting the index to ease to 1.6% from 2.3% the month before, according to economists at TD Securities.

On a month-over-month basis, prices fell 0.1%, where the consensus forecast was for a decline of 0.2%. On a seasonally adjusted basis, CPI fell 0.2% from the previous month.

Meanwhile, the average of the Bank of Canada's preferred trimmed mean and weighted median measures for underlying inflation accelerated to 3.15% on-year from 2.85% the month before, the fastest pace since last June.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com