The Bank of Canada is widely expected to hold its trendsetting overnight interest rate at its current level of 5% when it concludes its latest policy meeting later today (March 6).
Economists polled by the Reuters news agency anticipate that the central bank will forgo an interest rate cut as it continues to make progress in bringing inflation back down to its 2% annualized target.
Canada's inflation rate is currently at 2.9%, down from more than 8% in 2022 as consumer prices across the country continue to ease.
However, Bank of Canada executives have said that they want to see inflation move closer to their 2% target before starting to lower interest rates.
Economists and traders are currently forecasting that Canada’s central bank will begin cutting interest rates in June of this year.
The Bank of Canada has held its benchmark overnight interest rate at 5%, a 22-year high, since July of last year.
