Canadian inflation rose less than expected in May as natural gas prices grew at the fastest annual pace in nearly four and a half years while food costs slowed and gasoline prices shrank, showing no pressure for the central bank to hike rates.

The headline or all-items consumer price index rebounded 0.2% on a monthly basis after a decline of the same magnitude in April, lifting the year-on-year rate to 0.7% from a three-and-a-half year low of 0.4%, Statistics Canada said Friday.

The core rate, which excludes eight of the most volatile components, including some food and energy prices, rose 0.2% on a monthly basis from 0.1% previously, for an annual increase of 1.1%, the same rate as in April.

The consensus call was for the headline CPI to grow 0.9% from a a year ago and the core rate to rise 1.2%, according to a report from Royal Bank of Canada.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the monthly headline CPI climbed 0.1% after declining 0.4% previously, and the core rate was flat.