OTTAWA — A senior Bank of Canada official says the prices Canadians have been paying for good and services have been rising more than the official inflation rate.
Deputy governor Lawrence Schembri made the comment in a video conference speech today to the Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce.
A note in his speech says that while this discrepancy isn’t new, the difference between households’ perceptions in the second quarter of 2020 and April’s inflation reading was “particularly acute.”
He says the central bank is paying close attention to consumer spending as restrictions due to the pandemic ease because household spending and spending on housing usually account for two-thirds of economic activity.
The text of Schembri’s speech released by the bank says cautious spending behaviour will likely continue until a vaccine becomes available, given uncertainty about the path of COVID-19 and future outbreaks.
That will likely mean that employment and income will likely take some time to recover fully, he says.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 18, 2020
