The Bank of Canada today held its target for the overnight rate at 2.25%, with the Bank Rate at 2.5% and the deposit rate at 2.20%.
Canada’s economy is showing signs of improvement
Growth is picking up and inflation is projected to ease gradually from its recent spike. There are still important risks and uncertainties related to the war in the Middle East and US trade policy. Since the April Monetary Policy Report (MPR), global economic prospects have been dented by higher oil prices stemming from the Middle East conflict.
At the same time, the build-out of artificial intelligence (AI) is supporting economic activity in a growing number of countries. Oil prices are still lower than their peak in April but the situation in the Middle East remains volatile. The path for global inflation is highly dependent on how the conflict unfolds.