Canada’s inflation rate fell to 1.6 per cent in September, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday, after hitting the Bank of Canada’s 2 per cent goal in August.

The data agency said the numbers marked the smallest year-over-year increase to the consumer price index since February 2021.

Lower gasoline prices, which fell by 10.7 per cent on a yearly basis, drove inflation down last month. With gasoline excluded, the all-items inflation rate came in at 2.2 per cent, the same as August.

The agency noted that prices remain elevated — especially for rent and groceries — even as inflation has cooled off.

For the second consecutive month, food prices grew at a faster rate than headline inflation. Prices declined on a yearly basis for seafood and other marine products, nuts and seeds, and fish, but increased for fresh and frozen beef and eggs.

Rent prices increased at a slower pace in September, rising 8.2 per cent year-over-year compared to 8.9 per cent in August, with slower growth in Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and B.C.

More to come.