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Prices going up – Metro US

Prices going up

High oil prices, which have already increased the price of gas, fertilizers and food, may be about to hit Canadians in new areas, economists say.

Adrienne Warren, an economist at Scotiabank, says an initial wave of increases could expand to public transportation as well as household goods and services like home cleaning and diapers.

“Through the summer and into the fall, we’ll probably see increasing pressures on a wider range of goods outside of transportation such as air fares and train fares, to consumers goods in your grocery stores and your department stores.” These “rely on distribution and manufacturing that are energy-intensive,” Warren said.

While the price of a big-screen TV is unlikely to change because they are often manufactured outside Canada and benefit from the strong loonie, services such as dry cleaning, carpet cleaning, car rentals and couriers could all increase.

“A large part of their costs comes from transportation, going from home to home, or energy use,” she said.