Inflation eased slightly in July, but core measures remain sticky, leaving economists doubtful the Bank of Canada will change course in September.

Canada's main stock index inched lower on Monday as investors avoided big bets ahead of domestic inflation data due on Tuesday and a key U.S. central bank conference starting on Friday.

OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canada's annual inflation surprisingly slowed in March to 2.3%, three notches below the prior month, largely helped by lower gasoline and travel tour prices, data showed on Tuesday.

Consumer inflation in Canada rose by less than expected in July, according to Statistics Canada, as falling gasoline prices offset price increases elsewhere.

Statistics Canada will issue the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for July on Tuesday. This will attract the market's attention since it will provide the Bank of Canada (BoC) with fresh information on how inflation is changing, which they use to set interest rates.

Tuesday's annual inflation reading matched the forecast of analysts polled by Reuters. In December, inflation stood at 1.8%. On a monthly basis, prices were up 0.1% in January, Statistics Canada said.

The Canadian dollar was barely changed against its U.S. counterpart on Monday as oil prices rose and investors awaited domestic inflation data that could guide expectations for the Bank of Canada policy outlook.

The results reveal a linguistic divide. Countries in the EU and Asia perform well. France, which also did well the last time we conducted this exercise, in 2024, now has the least entrenched inflation of all the countries we looked at. Chapeau bas to them. Japanese inflation, true to form, has a feeble grip.