(Adds details from report)
OTTAWA, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Canada's annual inflation rate cooled in November as food prices retreated, data from Statistics Canada showed on Thursday, though new measures of underlying inflation were more robust and closer to the Bank of Canada's target.
The annual inflation rate decreased to 1.2 percent from October's 1.5 percent, short of economists' estimates for 1.4 percent.
Food prices were down 0.7 percent from a year ago as consumers paid less for meat and fresh fruit and vegetables. A decrease in prices for clothing and gasoline also contributed to slower inflation.
Investors got a first look at new measures established by the Bank of Canada when it renewed its inflation target in October, which are replacing the core measure the bank previously focused on. median, which shows the median inflation rate across CPI components, was the closest to the bank's 2 percent inflation target, up 1.9 percent compared to the year before.
CPI trim, which excludes upside and downside outliers, was at 1.6 percent. CPI common, which measures common price changes across categories in the CPI basket, was the coolest at 1.3 percent. The bank has said the common gauge has the best correlation to the output gap.
Economists have said that using three core measures instead of one could make it difficult to determine what the bank will react to.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Graphic - Canada inflation, central bank rate:
http://link.reuters.com/cut67s Graphic - Canada economic snapshot:
http://tmsnrt.rs/2e8hNWV
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