Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Nov 29/00) - The latest Yellowknife cost of living statistics show prices were higher in November. But the rate of increase was slower than for other centres.
The Yellowknife October increase was also below the national average, according to Statistics Canada figures released last week by the GNWT Bureau of Statistics.
The Yellowknife all-items consumer price index for October was 1.3 per cent higher than a year earlier.
By comparison, the annual price increase was 2.8 per cent for Canada, 3.6 per cent for Edmonton and 1.9 per cent for Whitehorse.
In Yellowknife, prices for consumer goods and services in October were 0.4 per cent lower compared to September.
Lower prices were recorded for travel services, inter-city transportation and footwear. These lower prices were offset with higher prices for fuel oil and other fuel, and personal care supplies & equipment. Charges for recreational equipment & services (excluding vehicles) and cigarettes advanced as well.
The overall price increase in Yellowknife of 1.3 per cent between October 1999 and October 2000 can be largely attributed to a 38.8 per cent increase in fuel oil and other fuel. The largest contributor in offsetting this annual price increases was an 8.6 per cent decline in the purchase and leasing of automotive vehicles.
CPI values for Yellowknife and Whitehorse include estimates of price changes for owned accommodation based on the price of rental accommodation. As a result, the all-items indexes published for these centres are not strictly comparable to those for Canada and Edmonton.
