By Sanchayaita Roy

(Reuters) -Canadian stocks fell on Friday as U.S. inflation figures revealed rising price pressures, exacerbating investor worries already heightened by tariffs.

Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was down 1% at 24,900.84, its lowest level since March 21, and set for a weekly loss.

The U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures price index rose on Friday as economists polled by Reuters had expected, fueling concerns that President Donald Trump’s tariff policies could further stoke inflation.

In the latest tariff salvo on Wednesday, Trump announced a 25% tax on imported vehicles. He is also set to unveil reciprocal tariffs on countries on April 2.

The U.S. Federal Reserve tracks the PCE price index for its inflation target and the data could impact the central bank’s interest rate decisions moving ahead.

"The third consecutive above-target gain in core PCE prices in February, of 0.37% m/m, reinforces our view that the Fed is unlikely to cut interest rates this year," said Stephen Brown, deputy chief North America economist at Capital Economics.

On TSX, information technology fell for the third straight session, down 2% — the most among all sectors. Blockchain farm operator Bitfarms dropped nearly 3%, as bitcoin fell 3.7%.

Consumer discretionary fell 1.4%; Restaurant Brand International declined the most, down 3.8%.

Meanwhile, Canada’s Gross Domestic Product grew by 0.4% on a monthly basis in January as economic activity continued the momentum of the last few of months, data showed on Friday.

Economists said part of the growth was helped by an increase in demand for cross-border trade by companies seeking to avoid the impact of U.S. tariffs.