BoC raises overnight rate by 50bps to 4.25%. The Bank Rate and deposit rate are increased to 4.50% and 4.25% respectively. Quantitative tightening will also continue.
Most importantly BoC said it will now be “considering whether the policy interest rate needs to rise further to bring supply and demand back into balance and return inflation to target”. The signals the possibility of a pause after today’s action.
Regarding the economy, BoC said growth will “essentially stall through the end of this year and the first half of next year”. Three-month rates of chance in core inflation “have come down”, as an “early indicator that price pressures may be losing momentum”. But inflation is “still too high” and short term inflation expectations remain “elevated”.
