Bank Of Canada Raises Interest Rate For Seventh Time This Year
The bank is trying to bring down inflation, which at 6.9 percent in October remained well above its target of two percent.
The bank is trying to bring down inflation, which at 6.9 percent in October remained well above its target of two percent.
The central bank pushed its key rate up by 50 basis points.
Opinion: The current levels of inflation we are seeing are eroding the purchasing power of consumers, increasing the cost of doing business, and furthering inequality within society. It is imperative the Bank of Canada gets its next steps right.
Higher interest rates will help slow demand, allowing supply to catch up and price pressures to ease, says Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem. The central bank’s goal is to bring inflation back to the two percent target.
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem suggests that by raising the key interest rate, the inflation rate should start to go down.
Many economists had predicted that it would rise based on inflation rates hitting a 30-year high in December 2021.
But deputy governor Paul Beaudry says Atlantic Canada’s relatively low Covid-19 caseload has allowed the region to keep the economy going with many businesses and establishments remaining open.
The central bank cut its overnight rate target by half a percentage point Wednesday to 1.25 percent.
Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz told a Moncton area audience that businesses need to better train their workforce, and employees have to be open to new kinds of jobs.
The benchmark interest rate was left unchanged Wednesday following two straight hikes.