The Financial Post reports in its Wednesday edition that Canada's inflation rate slowed to 2.3 per cent year-over-year in January, down 0.1 per cent from December, as gasoline prices fell. The Post's Jane Switzer quotes Statistics Canada saying Tuesday that gas prices were down 16.7 per cent in January and were the largest contributor to the slowdown in headline inflation. Excluding gas, the consumer price index (CPI) rose 3 per cent. Restaurant meal prices were up 12.3 per cent, mainly because of the temporary GST/HST holiday in early 2025. Other tax-exempt goods such as toys, games, hobby supplies, children's clothing and alcoholic drinks also rose. Food prices increased 4.8 per cent annually, a slightly slower rise than in December as the prices of fresh fruit eased. Excluding food and energy, the CPI rose 2.4 per cent in January compared with a year earlier. "The share of the overall consumer price basket seeing unusually high price growth continued to edge lower," RBC assistant chief economist Nathan Janzen said in a note. "By our count, about 23 per cent of the CPI basket was growing at above a five per cent rate over the last three months, down from 28 per cent in December and 30 per cent in November."