Airfare expenditures rose in Canada in December with strong demand for travel during the holiday season. 

Statistics Canada reported Tuesday that on a monthly basis, consumers paid 31.1 per cent more for air travel in December due to high seasonal demand. The increase followed a 1.1 per cent gain a month earlier. 

Katherine Judge, an economist with CIBC Capital Markets, noted Tuesday that on a seasonally adjusted basis, airfares rose 7.7 per cent in the month.

ANNUAL INFLATION

Prices for air transportation declined on an annual basis in December, but the decrease was slower than the month before, Statistics Canada noted, which put upward pressure on all Consumer Price Index (CPI) items. 

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 3.4 per cent year-over-year in December, after a 3.1 per cent increase the previous month, StatCan reported.