Consumers paid 2.2% more in September for the goods and services included in the Consumer Price Index basket than they did in September 2002, says Statistics Canada. This makes it unlikely that the Bank of Canada will raise interest rates in the near future.

The September increase follows a 12-month rise of 2% in August. September’s 12-month increase remains well below the recent highs of early 2003, when energy prices, and especially gasoline prices, were providing the bulk of the upward pressure. Excluding energy, the CPI rose 1.9% from September 2002 to September 2003, after rising 1.6% in August.

The bad news from StatsCan this morning concerns wholesaler goods and services. Wholesalers experienced a drop of $34.2 billion in August, down 4.6%. The last decline of this magnitude was due to the January 1998 ice storm (-4.3%). This decline is being blamed, in part, on the blackout. The automotive manufacturing sector was severely affected.

In total, 9 of the 11 sectors were down in August. The biggest declines were in motor vehicles, parts and accessories (-15.4%), farm machinery, equipment and supplies (-11.4%) and computers and electronic products (-8.1%). Wholesale sales of lumber and building materials remained relatively unchanged (-0.2%).

Wall Street futures are pointing to a flat opening. As earnings reporting season continues there is some concern among American investors that positive reports are the result of the weakened U.S. dollar.

Meanwhile, in Europe at midday in early action, Frankfurt’s DAX is up 0.4% and Paris’s CAC 40 has climbed 0.8%. London’s FTSE 100 stock index rose 20.30, or 0.5%, to 4367.80

In Tokyo profit-takers hit the Nikkei Stock Average of 225 issues. The index fell 130.19 points, or 1.17%, to 11,031.52.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng rose 102.80 points, or 0.85%, to 12,250.69, its highest close since August 2001. Prices were boosted by a government announcement that Hong Kong’s unemployment rate has slipped to 8.3%.

North American markets closed modestly higher Monday. Toronto’s S&P/TSX composite stock index rose 2.38 points Monday to 7,719.85. The Dow Jones industrial average moved up 56.15 points to 9,777.94. The Nasdaq composite added 12.78 at 1,925.14, and the S&P 500 index rose 5.36 points to 1,044.68.