BoC cuts overnight rate by 25bps to 4.50% as widely expected. The Governing Council is carefully assessing the “opposing forces” on inflation, where excess supply is lowering inflationary pressures, but shelter and some services are holding inflation up. Future monetary policy decisions will be guided by incoming inflation and the assessment on the inflation outlook.
In the new economic forecasts, annual GDP growth is projected to be at 1.2% in 2024 (downgraded from 1.5%), 2.1% in 2025 (downgraded from 2.2%), and 2.4% in 2026 (upgraded from 1.9%.
CPI inflation is projected to be at 2.6% in 2024 (unchanged), 2.4% in 2025 (upgraded from 2.2%) and then 2.0% in 2026 (downgraded from 2.1%).
Full BoC statement here.
