Canada's 2% inflation rate in August raises hopes for large rate cut

OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canada's annual inflation rate reached the central bank's 2% target in August, data showed on Tuesday, fuelling hopes for a 50-basis-point interest rate cut by the country's central bank next month. The consumer price index posted its smallest rate of increase since February 2021 and the closely watched core price measures also cooled to their lowest levels in 40 months, Statistics Canada said. Consumer prices fell 0.2% on a month-on-month basis, it said.