We may still need to raise rates if new developments push inflation higher

Tiff Macklem, Governor of the Bank of Canada (BoC), explains the BoC decision to leave the interest rate unchanged at 5% after the January policy meeting and responds to questions from the press.

Key quotes

“BoC is now starting to look at how long rates need to stay at current levels rather than whether policy rate is restrictive enough.”

“This doesn’t mean we have ruled out further policy rate increases; if new developments push inflation higher, we may still need to raise rates.”

“We need to give higher rates time to do their work.”

“If economy evolves broadly in line with our latest projections, expect future discussions will be about how long we maintain rate at 5%.”

“Push and pull on inflation means further declines are likely to be gradual and uneven, path back to 2% target will be slow and risks remain.”

“There was clear consensus at Governing Council to maintain policy rate at 5%.”

“Global growth has slowed but not as much as we thought it would.”