OTTAWA, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Canada's annual inflation rate rose to 2.5 percent in June, the highest since February 2012, according to Statistics Canada Friday.
It exceeded the Bank of Canada's 2.0 percent target for the fifth straight month.
Canadian cost of living is going up at its fastest pace since 2012 as gas prices have risen by almost 25 percent since last summer.
Energy prices rose 12.4 percent from June 2017, higher than the year-on-year 11.6 percent increase in last May, due to a 24.6 percent jump in gasoline prices.
Overall, seven of the eight major components grew at a quicker rate than they had done in May.
The data by Statistics Canada shows that retail sales rose two percent to 50.8 billion Canadian dollars(about 38 billion U.S. dollars) in May following a 0.9 percent decline in April.
The Bank of Canada raised interest rates last week for the fourth time in a year and signaled more hikes to come. Enditem
