Bank of Canada Holds Interest Rate Steady at 5% as Economy Continues to Cool
As expected, Bank of Canada holds interest rate steady at 5%
On Wednesday, the Governing Council of the Bank of Canada decided to hold its benchmark interest rate steady at 5%, CBC reported (12-6-23).
The bank raised the rate to its current level of 5% in July, but has stood still ever since, as the Canadian economy shows signs of cooling. In a statement announcing the decision cited by CBC, the bank said, “The slowdown in the economy is reducing inflationary pressures in a broadening range of goods and services prices.”
The bank’s rate influences the rate that Canadians get on things like variable-rate loans and some savings accounts.
Canadian economists who monitor the central bank had said that the move was widely expected, CBC reported. After raising its trendsetting rate 10 times since early 2022 to slow runaway inflation, the bank has been signaling recently that it thinks it may be nearing the end of that hiking cycle.
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