Canada: Annual CPI dropped to 2.2% in February vs. 2.1% expected

• Core CPI in Canada remained steady at 1.8% in February.
• USD/CAD extends rally, approaches 1.44 handle in early American session.

Inflation in Canada, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), in February fell to 2.2% from 2.4% in January on a yearly basis, the data published by Statistics Canada showed on Wednesday. This reading came in higher than the market expectation of 2.1%. 

On a monthly basis, the CPI ticked up to 0.4% as expected. Moreover, the Bank of Canada's core CPI, which strips volatile food and energy prices, stayed unchanged at 1.8% annually and rose to 0.7% (MoM) in February.

USD/CAD rally continues

The USD/CAD pair largely ignored these readings and continued to edge higher. As of writing, the pair was up 1.3% on the day at 1.4383.