(Ottawa) The likelihood of another interest rate hike has diminished, according to deliberations by the Bank of Canada’s board of directors.
The Bank of Canada published on Wednesday the summary of the deliberations relating to its December 6 decision on interest rates. The summary reveals that the governing council felt more optimistic about the outlook for inflation.
Recent data has shown that the economic slowdown is attributable to a decline in spending, something the central bank is counting on to moderate inflation.
The central bank kept its key rate stable at the start of the month for the third time in a row. Forecasters widely expect the next move to be to cut interest rates over the next year.
However, the Bank of Canada has not yet ruled out the possibility of a further rate hike. In the summary, she notes that it may be necessary to raise rates again to further curb inflation.
Statistics Canada released its November Consumer Price Index (CPI) report on Tuesday, which shows that inflation did not slow down last month and remained at 3.1%.