Economists expect inflation rate ticked up above 3% last month amid higher gas prices

OTTAWA — Economists say inflation likely flared up again in February amid higher gasoline prices, reinforcing the expectation that the journey back to two per cent inflation will be a bumpy one. Statistics Canada is set to release its February consumer price index report on Tuesday. The consensus expectation among forecasters is that prices rose 3.1 per cent from a year ago. That would reverse some of the progress made in January, when the annual inflation rate slowed to 2.9 per cent. “We’re loo