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Why Your Grocery Bill Keeps Rising — And What You Can Do About It

  It's not just gas. Canada's food inflation hit its highest pace in over a year in May 2026 — and produce prices are leading the charge. MoneySavings.ca  |  June 27, 2026 If your grocery receipts have been giving you sticker shock lately, you're not imagining things. Canada's official inflation figures, released by Statistics Canada on June 22, confirm that food prices are climbing faster than the overall cost of living — and have been for 16 consecutive months . If you're trying to figure out why your weekly shop costs so much more than it did a year ago, here's a plain-English breakdown — and some practical steps you can take to soften the blow. By the Numbers — May 2026 (Statistics Canada) Overall CPI: +3.2% year over year (highest since December 2023) Grocery prices (food purchased from stores): +4.3% year over year Fresh vegetables: +9.0% year over year Fresh fruit: +5.3% year over year Tomatoes: +45.2% year over year Lettuce: +10.7% year over year G...
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Weekly Market Snapshot — June 23–27, 2026

 


Canadian markets finished the week on a positive note, with the S&P/TSX Composite closing Friday at 34,980 — up roughly 53 points from Monday's open near 34,927. Materials and financials did the heavy lifting, while tech continued to drag. Below is your complete snapshot of the numbers that matter most to Canadian investors and consumers this week.

📈 S&P/TSX Composite

MetricValue
Friday Close (Jun 27)34,980.00 ▲
Friday Change+129.79 pts  (+0.37%)
Monday Open (Jun 22)~34,927
52-Week Range26,547 – 35,630
1-Year Return+31.05%

The TSX ended the week modestly positive despite tech turbulence. Gold prices lifted the materials sector, with Agnico Eagle, Barrick, and Franco-Nevada each gaining nearly 2% at points during the week. The big banks also provided ballast — TD, RBC, and BMO all posted gains as easing oil prices cooled inflation fears and pushed bond yields lower. On the downside, Shopify fell as much as 2.6% and Constellation Software shed 3.6% mid-week as a broader Nasdaq selloff weighed on Canadian tech names.

🇺🇸 U.S. Markets (Friday Close, Jun 26)

IndexCloseDay Change
Dow Jones (DJIA)51,876.11−44.51 pts
S&P 5007,354.02−3.47 pts
Nasdaq Composite25,297.62−60.99 pts

U.S. markets finished the week in the red, with the Nasdaq suffering its first four-day losing streak since February. A strong earnings beat from Micron Technology — whose revenue more than quadrupled year-over-year to $41.46 billion — could not offset selling pressure in mega-cap tech. Shares of Apple dropped roughly 6% Friday after the company announced price increases on MacBook and iPad models. The Dow held up better thanks to healthcare, financials, and industrials, with Caterpillar jumping 6% on the week.

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar & Interest Rates

IndicatorLevelNote
CAD / USD (Jun 26)≈ $0.704 USDNear 1-yr low
USD / CAD (Jun 26)≈ 1.4184−0.05% on day
BoC Overnight Rate2.25%5th consecutive hold
Prime Rate (major banks)4.45%Unchanged

The loonie touched a one-year low this week, slipping toward 70.4 cents US as hawkish signals from the U.S. Federal Reserve — with markets now pricing in roughly three rate hikes this year — strengthened the greenback against most G10 currencies. The Bank of Canada, by contrast, held its overnight rate at 2.25% for a fifth straight meeting on June 10, and Governor Tiff Macklem publicly acknowledged two-way risk: the next move could be either a cut (if U.S. tariffs deepen the slowdown) or a hike (if Middle East energy prices feed through to persistent inflation). The next BoC decision is July 15, 2026, accompanied by a full Monetary Policy Report.

☕ Commodities

CommodityPrice (Jun 26)Weekly Trend
WTI Crude OilUS$69.23/bbl3rd straight weekly drop ▼
Brent CrudeUS$72.60/bblBelow pre-Iran-war levels ▼
Gold (Aug contract)US$4,096.30/oz+$48.70 on day; ~−5% on wk ▼

Oil prices continued their retreat all week, with WTI falling to US$69.23 a barrel on Friday — now back below levels seen before the U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran. Progress in peace talks, plus signs that Middle Eastern producers (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE) are ramping up output and resuming Persian Gulf exports, pushed WTI toward a third consecutive weekly decline. A cargo ship struck by an unidentified projectile off the Omani coast briefly reversed the trend Thursday before fears eased again. Lower oil means lower inflation pressure on Canadians at the pump — though prices are still elevated compared to pre-conflict norms.

Gold had a choppy week, briefly bouncing above US$4,100 Thursday on softer-than-feared U.S. PCE data, before giving back gains as hawkish Fed commentary reasserted itself. The yellow metal was on track for roughly a 5% weekly decline — its fourth consecutive down week — as rate-hike expectations lifted the U.S. dollar. Still, gold's support of Canadian mining stocks remained a net positive for the TSX.

🔎 What Canadians Should Watch Next Week

  • Canada Day (July 1): TSX closed Wednesday — short week for markets.
  • Bank of Canada (July 15): The next rate decision includes a full Monetary Policy Report. Watch for any language shift on inflation or growth.
  • U.S. Fed signals: Markets are now pricing roughly three hikes in 2026. Any softening in that view could give the loonie a lift.
  • Oil & Strait of Hormuz: Peace talks between Washington and Tehran are ongoing. Any breakdown could spike energy prices again — relevant for both inflation and TSX energy stocks.
  • Micron earnings ripple: The memory-chip giant's blowout quarter ($41.5B in revenue, 4× year-over-year) signals AI demand remains red-hot. Watch Canadian AI-adjacent names like Celestica.

Market data reflects confirmed closing prices for the week ending June 27, 2026. All figures in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted. This summary is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Always consult a licensed financial advisor before making investment decisions.

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