Statistics Canada released the inflation report for April 2005 yesterday. Inflation came in at 2.4% higher than year-ago prices. The report said that prices of gas (up 15.3%), new homes (up 5.8%), restaurant meals (up 3.1%), fuel oil (up 31.6%) and property taxes (up 4.3%) rose, while computers (down 20.1%), women’s clothing (down 2.9%) and hotel accommodations (down 5.1%) were cheaper. The CPI was 0.3% more than the previous month.

Since the so-called core rate of inflation, which excludes volatile energy and food prices, increased only 1.7%, Bay Street economists think that the Bank of Canada will leave interest rates unchanged at 2.5% next week.