OTTAWA - Cheaper prices at the gas pumps and grocery store helped bring down inflation in October, Statistics Canada said Monday.

The annual rate of inflation cooled to 2.2 per cent in October – a tick higher than economists’ expectations but down from 2.4 per cent in September.

Gas prices fell 4.8 per cent on a monthly basis in October as retailers switched to cheaper winter blends of fuel and global crude oil prices dropped on concerns of oversupply.

Prices at the grocery store also fell 0.6 per cent in October, the largest month-to-month decline since September 2020.

Prices for food purchased from the grocery store rose 3.4 per cent on an annual basis, cooling from four per cent in September.

StatCan said that deceleration was driven by cooling costs for some food preparations – mo

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