OTTAWA--Canadian inflation steadied last month as rising travel costs and a rebound in rents countered a softer jump in gasoline prices.

The consumer-price index slipped 0.1% in August, holding the annual rate of inflation at 3%, Statistics Canada said Monday.

The pace was in line with what economists were expecting after inflation the month before accelerated to the top end of the 1%-to-3% window the Bank of Canada aims for.

The inflation data for August is the first of two data sets the central bank sees before next deciding on interest rates in late October. The bank earlier this month again left its policy rate unchanged as it balances a rebound in economic activity in the second quarter against heightened uncertainty and inflation that has been buoyed by a spike in oil prices. Officials remain wary of price pressures potentially broadening beyond energy costs the longer the Iran war continues and with new U.S. tariffs and Canadian counter-measures being imposed on trade between the two countries.

Stripping out gasoline, the consumer price index rose 2.4% in August, speeding up slightly from July's 2.2% advance. Still, the trimmed mean and weighted median measures of underlying inflation preferred by the Bank of Canada were unchanged, averaging 1.95% annually.

Canadians faced a 22.8% jump in prices at the pump last month, a slowdown after a 25.7% jump in July as energy costs remain elevated as the Middle East conflict continued.

Consumers also paid less for clothing, driven by a drop in prices for men's and children's wear. At the same time, grocery-price inflation for the first time since July 2024 was cooler than headline inflation, with the cost of food bought at stores rising 2.8% after a 3.1% increase the month before.

Still, rents were higher in Canada last month and prices for travel tours jumped by 26.1%, in part due to comparisons with a year earlier, when far fewer Canadians traveled to the U.S. and also due to fuel surcharges amid higher jet fuel costs.