Inflation in Canada rose to 2.9 per cent in May, up from 2.7 per cent in April, according to the country's statistics agency. Higher service prices contributed to the development.
The increase was unexpected. Analysts had on average expected inflation to fall to 2.6 per cent in May, according to the news agency Bloomberg.
Compared to the previous month, consumer prices in Canada rose by 0.6 per cent. This can be compared to an average forecast of 0.3 per cent.
The price increases in May broke a streak of four months with subdued inflation in Canada, and are expected to make Canada's central bank hesitant about whether it is suitable to lower interest rates for the second time in July following the 0.25 percentage point cut to 4.75 per cent earlier in June.
