Canadian inflation hits 30-year high

Consumer prices in Canada exploded to a 30-year-high in December, partly due to supply chain disruption, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.

"The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 4.8 per cent on a year-over-year basis in December, up from a 4.7 per cent gain in November," the national statistics agency said in a statement.

The increase was 4 per cent year-over-year when excluding gasoline. The increase marked the largest in the country's CPI since September 1991.

"Inflation rose to a 30-year high of 4.8 per cent in December but is now close to a peak," Capital Economics economist Stephen Brown said.

"We expect it to remain near its current level in the first quarter, before it falls sharply over the remainder of the year," he added.

According to Desjardins group economist Jimmy Jean, "there are still good reasons to think that the Bank of Canada will entertain hiking" the key interest rate soon."

Food items saw their biggest price jump since December 2011, with a 5.7 per cent year-on-year increase.