Canadians, economists alike saw little relief from inflation in October: forecasters

​Inflation has been heading lower in recent months, but Canadians likely haven't noticed as gas prices went up and grocery costs continued to soar last month.

Statistics Canada is expected to release its October report on the consumer price index on Wednesday, and economists are warning Canada’s annual inflation rate likely ticked higher.

BMO is forecasting the annual inflation rate was 7.2 per cent, up from 6.9 per cent in September, while RBC also expects inflation rose slightly, estimating 7.0 per cent.

Forecasters say gas prices and food inflation are to blame for the expected uptick. However, the slight bump might not mean much in the long run.