Annual inflation rate cooled in March to 0.9 per cent as pandemic took hold

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OTTAWA — Statistics Canada reports the annual pace of inflation in March slowed to a pace last seen in 2015 as the economy was gripped by the COVID-19 pandemic.The agency says the consumer price index for March was up 0.9 per cent compared with a year ago.The reading compared with a year-over-year increase of 2.2 per cent in February.Economists on average had expected a reading of 1.2 per cent for March, according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv.Energy prices fell 11.6 per cent on a year-over-year basis in March.Excluding energy, the consumer price index rose 1.7 per cent.This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2020.The Canadian Press