The share of Canadian firms planning price increases climbed for the first time in a year according to a federal statistics office survey published Monday, one of the factors the central bank has its eye on as officials figure out when to lower interest rates.

Statistics Canada's first quarter Survey on Business Conditions showed 25.2% of firms expect to raise prices in the next three months versus 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Both figures remain below the rate of 32.9% set in the first quarter of last year.

Inflation remains the leading challenge cited by firms in the survey, cited by 55.4% of respondents, and the second-ranked obstacle was rising input costs at 43.7%. Amid some forecasts for a recession in Canada 68.4% of firms said they were very or somewhat optimistic about their outlook over the next year. (MNI INTERVIEW: Investors Jump Gun On BOC Cuts- Ex Deputy Lane)