OTTAWA - Inflation cooled in July thanks largely to relief at the gas pumps, but Statistics Canada said grocery and shelter costs were accelerating last month.

The annual rate of inflation fell to 1.7 per cent in July, the agency said Tuesday, down from 1.9 per cent in June. The reading was a tenth of a percentage point below most economists’ expectations.

A 16.1 per cent decline year-over-year in gas prices tied mainly to the removal of the consumer carbon price earlier this year fuelled the drop.

Gas prices were also down 0.7 per cent on a monthly basis. Statistics Canada pointed to increased production from oil-exporting countries, as well as a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Iran, as driving down global crude oil prices.

Beyond the gas pumps, there were signs of prices

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