Year-over-year (August 2026 vs August 2025)

The inflation rate accelerated to 3.2% in the European Union and Euro Area in August 2026.

The fastest inflation was reported in Romania, while the slowest inflation rate was in Sweden.                                                                 

Note that from 1 January 2026, the Euro Area also includes Bulgaria.

Energy price inflation was 13.0% in the European Union and 14.3% in the Euro Area in August 2026.

Food price inflation was 0.3% in the European Union and 0.8% in the Euro Area in August 2026.

Excluding the impacts of energy, food, alcohol and tobacco prices, year-over-year inflation was 2.6% in the European Union and 2.4% in the Euro Area in August 2026.

Note: annual data shown for the 27 countries that currently make up the European Union and for the 21 countries that currently use the Euro as their currency.

Source: Eurostat; Eurostat Data

Note that energy prices continue to reflect the impact of the conflict in the Middle East.

Nova Scotia’s all items Consumer Price Index (CPI) grew 5.1% year-over-year in August 2026, up 0.1 percentage points from the previous month. 

Nationally, consumer prices grew 3.0% year-over-year in August 2026, unchanged from the previous month. Inflation was fastest in Nova Scotia and slowest in Ontario.                                                                              

The most significant upward contributors (combining price increase as well as share of the consumption basket) to Nova Scotia's 5.1% year-over-year inflation were: gasoline, rent, fuel oil and other fuels, food purchased from restaurants, and traveller accommodation.

The largest downward year-over-year contributions were from: financial services, home entertainment/equipment/parts and services, household appliances, processed meat, and non-electric kitchen utensils, tableware/cookware.

On a monthly basis, Nova Scotia's all items CPI was up 0.1% from July 2026 to August 2026. National prices were down 0.1% on average, with monthly increases in four provinces. The fastest rate of monthly increase was in Prince Edward Island, with the slowest increase in Saskatchewan.

Major upward contributors to Nova Scotia's monthly consumer prices were: fuel/oil and other fuels, gasoline, traveller accommodation, rent, and food purchased from restaurants.

Major downward contributors to Nova Scotia's monthly consumer prices were: fresh fruit, inter-city transportation, recreational equipment/services (excluding recreational vehicles), gasoline, and travel tours.

Energy prices play a significant role in inflation rates. Nova Scotia's energy prices (and overall inflation) are more sensitive to fluctuations in the global price of crude oil. Nova Scotia's energy prices were up 22.1% from August 2025 to August 2026. Year-over-year energy prices were up 15.4% nationally with all provinces reporting increasing energy prices (fastest: Prince Edward Island, slowest: Québec).

On a monthly basis, Nova Scotia's energy prices were up 0.7% from July 2026 to August 2026, the second fastest increase among provinces, behind British Columbia. National energy prices were down 0.2% with six provinces reporting higher prices compared to the previous month.

In August 2026, gasoline prices were up 24.6% compared to a year ago in Nova Scotia, more than the national average increase of 22.8%. All provinces reported increases, with Newfoundland and Labrador reporting fastest increase in gas prices year-over-year, while Québec reported the slowest increase.

Gasoline prices were down 1.5% from July to August in Nova Scotia. Nationally, gasoline prices were down 0.9% with all provinces except Manitoba and British Columbia reporting a decline.

Nova Scotia's year-over-year fuel oil prices were up 46.6% in August 2026 compared with August 2025. Nationally, the fuel oil and other fuels price index increased 43.7% compared to August 2025 with all provinces, led by New Brunswick, reporting increases. 

On a monthly basis, Nova Scotia's fuel oil prices were up 10.2% compared to July 2026. National fuel oil prices were up 9.8% from July to August, with increases in nine provinces. Saskatchewan reported the fastest monthly increase among provinces.

Food prices increased 2.4% in Nova Scotia year-over-year, below the national average food price inflation of 2.8% in August 2026. Food prices were up in every province, led by Saskatchewan. 

On a monthly basis, Nova Scotia's food prices fell 0.5% from July to August. National food prices were down 0.2% with declines in all provinces. The fastest declines were reported in Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, and New Brunswick.

Food and energy prices are heavily influenced by volatile global commodity markets. Nova Scotia's underlying inflation rate excluding food and energy was up 3.5% from August 2025 to August 2026, the second fastest behind Manitoba. Nationally, inflation excluding food and energy was 2.1% with year-over-year increases in all provinces. Ontario reported the slowest increase in prices excluding food and energy.

On a monthly basis, Nova Scotia's prices for all items excluding food and energy were up 0.1% from July to August. Nationally, prices for all items excluding food and energy were unchanged. Only three provinces reported increases led by Prince Edward Island. The fastest decline occurred in Saskatchewan.

Year-over-year shelter cost inflation was 7.2% in Nova Scotia in August 2026, above the national average shelter price increase of 1.5%, and the fastest among the provinces.

Monthly shelter costs were up 0.9% in Nova Scotia from July to August 2026, the fastest among the provinces. Nationally, shelter costs were up 0.3% with increases in eight provinces. Alberta reported the fastest decline.

Among detailed food products with available data, Nova Scotia's year-over-year inflation was fastest for beef and sugar/confectionary. Year-over-year price declines were fastest in fat/oils and preserved fruits.

In detailed shelter cost components, the fastest year-over-year growth was reported for fuel oil/other fuels and water.  

Household operations/furnishings costs were up 0.6% overall. The fastest year-over-year price increase was for paper/plastic/aluminum products, while prices fell the fastest for utensils/tableware/cookware.

Clothing and footwear prices were up 5.9% year-over-year in August as all sub-components grew except for clothing materials/services, with the fastest price growth in clothing accessories/jewellery.

Health and personal care costs were up 3.0% year-over-year on gains in all sub-components. Health care services and non-prescribed medicine reported the fastest increases.

Overall transportation costs were up 8.9% year-over-year in August due in large part to an increase in gasoline prices. The only decrease was in taxis/other local transportation, while vehicle registration prices were unchanged.

Nova Scotia's overall prices for recreation, education and reading were up 5.7% from August 2025 to August 2026 with the fastest increase for travel services/accommodations. The only declines were in reading (excluding textbooks) and home entertainment equipment/services.

Nova Scotia's prices for alcohol, tobacco and recreational cannabis were up 0.2% year-over-year. The fastest increase was in beer and liquor from stores, while there was a notable decrease in the price of cannabis.

Trends

Since the start of the Bank of Canada's inflation-targeting monetary policy regime, inflation for all items has generally been in the 0-4% range. Periods of above target inflation are typically followed by periods of slow price growth or declines. The acceleration in inflation from 2021 to 2024 was the strongest since the inflation-targeting era began, though this receded with tighter monetary policy and lower commodity prices. Nova Scotia's May 2026 all-items inflation rate of 5.2% was the fastest pace of year-over-year inflation since February 2023.

Many of these periods of accelerated and slowed inflation are attributable to volatile commodity prices, especially energy prices. Once the more volatile commodity prices are excluded, inflation in Nova Scotia has largely been below 2% for much of the last 20 years. However, the rise in inflation through 2021-2024 spread beyond commodity prices, resulting in the longest period under the Bank of Canada's inflation-targeting regime with Nova Scotia's CPI excluding food and energy above 3%. After decelerating in 2024, Nova Scotia's CPI excluding food and energy rose in 2025 and has remained above 2%. In August 2026, it reached 3.5%, the highest value since December 2025.

The Bank of Canada examines 'core' measures of inflation that are intended to remove the effects of volatile components and capture underlying inflation trends that are more connected to capacity in the Canadian economy. Core measures of inflation August also indicate where all items inflation is headed. 

Canada's core measures of inflation remained mostly at or below the Bank's target of 2% for over a decade prior to 2021. However, core inflation measures rose in 2022, peaking at over 6% for the CPI-common measure before declining around the beginning of 2023. Core measures of inflation began to rise toward the end of 2024.

The Bank of Canada's year-over-year core inflation measures in August 2026 were:

• CPI-common: 2.6% (down from 2.7% the previous month)
• CPI-median: 2.0% (unchanged from the previous month)
• CPI-trim: 1.9% (unchanged from the previous month)

The core CPI excluding volatile products and the effects of indirect taxes was 2.4% (up from 2.3% the previous month).

Source: Statistics Canada. Table 18-10-0004-01  Consumer Price Index, monthly, not seasonally adjusted; Table 18-10-0256-01  Consumer Price Index (CPI) statistics, measures of core inflation and other related statistics - Bank of Canada definitions

Year-over-year (August 2026 vs August 2025)

All items: Consumer prices in Nova Scotia increased 5.1%, up 0.1 percentage points from inflation in the previous month. The national average inflation was 3.0%. In Halifax, consumer prices increased 4.8%.

All items excluding food and energy: Nova Scotia consumer prices outside of food and energy increased 3.5%. This was above the national average increase of 2.1%.

Month-over-month (August 2026 vs July 2026)

All items: Consumer prices in Nova Scotia were up 0.1% in August 2026 compared with July 2026. Nationally, consumer prices were down 0.1% compared to the previous month. In Halifax consumer prices were up 0.1%.

All items excluding food and energy: Nova Scotia consumer prices excluding food and energy were up 0.1% month over month in August 2026. Nationally, consumer prices outside of food and energy were unchanged compared to July 2026.

Source: Statistics Canada.  Table  18-10-0004-01   Consumer Price Index, monthly, not seasonally adjusted

The United States Consumer Price Index (not seasonally adjusted) for All Urban Consumers increased 3.4% year-over-year in August 2026, unchanged from the year-over-year pace in July 2026.

Compared to August 2025, the US energy price index was up 16.3%. The gasoline price index was up 27.4% year-over-year. The food index rose 2.7% and the shelter index was up 3.0% year-over-year.

The US CPI excluding food and energy slowed to 2.4% compared to August 2025. 

Please note that October 2025 CPI was not published due to the US government shut down.

CPI figures for Canada and Nova Scotia will be released on September 14, 2026.

Sources: Statistics Canada. Table 18-10-0004-01  Consumer Price Index, monthly, not seasonally adjusted; U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics retrieved from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Year-over-year (July 2026 vs July 2025)

Over the last year (July 2026 vs July 2025), the consumer price index for all items in Nova Scotia excluding food increased by 5.5%. Food prices as a whole rose 2.8%.  At the same time the average weekly wage across all Nova Scotia industries increased by 3.0%.

In the last year, the following products reported lower prices in Nova Scotia: pork shoulder cuts, chicken breasts, shrimp, margarine, yogurt, eggs, pears, grapes, onions, peppers, frozen french fried potatoes, frozen green beans, frozen mixed vegetables, flatbread and pita, crackers and crisp breads, cookies and sweet biscuits, cereal, white sugar, orange juice, ketchup, olive oil, baby food, infant formula, peanut butter, canned baked beans, canned soup, canned corn, salsa, and laundry detergent.

The following products reported price growth that exceeded the gains in average weekly earnings: beef (stewing cuts, striploin cuts, top sirloin cuts, rib cuts, and ground), pork rib cuts, whole chicken, chicken thigh, bacon, canned salmon, milk, 1 litre, soy milk, nut milk, cream, butter, apples, bananas, lemons, limes, cantaloupe, strawberries, avocado, tomatoes, cabbage, carrots, celery, cucumber, mushrooms, iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce, broccoli, squash, salad greens, frozen broccoli, frozen pizza, frozen spinach, frozen strawberries, white bread, dry or fresh pasta, brown rice, apple juice, roasted or ground coffee, vegetable oil, canola oil, canned tomatoes, canned beans and lentils, canned peach, canned pear, dried lentils, dry beans and legumes, tofu, hummus, pasta sauce, salad dressing, almonds, deodorant, toothpaste, and shampoo.

Nova Scotia prices relative to national average (July 2026)

Nova Scotia food prices were below national averages for beef stewing cuts, beef striploin cuts, pork shoulder cuts, whole chicken, chicken breasts, chicken thigh, salmon, canned salmon, milk, 2 litres, cabbage, romaine lettuce, frozen green beans, frozen corn, frozen mixed vegetables, frozen peas, frozen spinach, infant formula, mayonnaise, pasta sauce, laundry detergent.

Notes: Statistics Canada makes available scanner data on prices collected for a range of food and personal care items. These prices are collected through point-of-sale (transaction) data obtained directly from Canadian retailers. The data represent commonly purchased items (which do change over time), but are not representative of the Consumer Price Index weights. Over time, products are rotated and quantity or quality June change. Comparisons of prices from one time period to another reflect quantity and quality changes as well as price changes.

For the purposes of this analysis, the 110 items reported by Statistics Canada will be grouped into:

• Meat, fish, poultry and meat substitutes
• Dairy, eggs and substitute products
• Fruit (including canned and frozen products)
• Vegetables (including canned and frozen products)
• Grains, cereals, beans, legumes and nuts
• Sugar, juices, cooking oils, condiments and prepared foods
• Health and cleaning products

Source: Statistics Canada. Table 18-10-0245-01  Monthly average retail prices for selected products; Table 18-10-0004-01  Consumer Price Index, monthly, not seasonally adjusted; Table 14-10-0063-01  Employee wages by industry, monthly, unadjusted for seasonality