Bank of Canada: Latest News

The annual rate of inflation dropped sharply last month, but some economists argue a slowdown might not be enough to deter the Bank of Canada from another rate hike in July.

Reining in government spending could take some of the pressure off the Bank of Canada in tamping down inflation and help limit pain for debt-ridden Canadians, according to a new report from CIBC.

carbon price should go ahead as planned, two economists say, even as consumers across Canada are struggling amid the rising cost-of-living and feeling the impacts of a Bank of Canada rate increase.In an interview with The West Block‘s Mercedes Stephenson, economists pointed to the wildfire smoke engulfing large parts of the continent as a reminder that the climate crisis is still unfolding.“I think at a time when the country is burning and we’re not sure what the future is existentially, we need to do something very serious about climate change,” Armine Yalnizyan, Atkinson Fellow on the Future of Workers, said.She added, “And a carbon tax is something that had had at one point cross-party support. So, let’s just do something.

unemployment rate rose to 5.2 per cent in May, Statistics Canada said Friday, a sign of weakening in the country’s tight labour market that will help inform the Bank of Canada’s future interest rate decisions.Employment overall was little changed in the month, the agency said, with a modest 17,000 jobs lost. Employment fell among youth aged 15-24 and rose among those aged 25-54.While part-time employment rose to the tune of 15,500 jobs in May, Canadian employers collectively cut 32,700 full-time positions, according to the report.The unemployment rate rose for the first time since August 2022, StatCan said, up from 5.0 per cent in April.The job report this morning comes after the Bank of Canada’s decision this week to raise its key interest rate target by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.75 per cent.In raising its key rate, the central bank said the labour market remains tight, reflecting continued strong demand for workers.“Some cracks appeared within the Canadian labour market in May, but these may not yet be wide enough to convince the Bank of Canada that inflation is about to meaningfully cool off,” said CIBC senior economist Andrew Grantham in a note to clients Friday morning.He suggested the weaker jobs figures might see markets scale back expectations of additional rate hikes to come, but the Bank of Canada’s policymakers may need to see “further softening” to convince them they can leave rate unchanged.Average hourly wages were up 5.1 per cent in May, continuing to outpace inflation.

The Bank of Canada ended its interest rate pause on Wednesday as it looks to stamp out inflation and cool the country’s red-hot economy.

Bank of Canada’s interest rate pause is set for its toughest challenge yet on Wednesday as policymakers weigh whether another hike is needed to quell a resilient economy and push inflation down further.While money markets and some economists say that another hike is in the cards for this week’s interest rate decision, those who spoke to Global News argue the central bank is better off waiting to move off the sidelines and signalling a possible increase later this summer.The Bank of Canada’s rate hike campaign has been on a “conditional pause” since March, following eight consecutive increases that raised the central bank’s policy rate to 4.5 per cent, up from the lows of 0.25 per cent seen through much of the pandemic.The central bank said it could remain on pause as long as data continued to show the economy was cooling enough to bring inflation back down to its two per cent target, which has been forecast to reach in 2024.The rate increases to date have raised the cost of borrowing for Canadians and their banks in an effort to cool the economy and take some of the steam out of inflation, which reached 40-plus-year highs in 2022.Inflation has declined significantly, though Statistics Canada’s headline reading ticked back up slightly to 4.4 per cent in the latest consumer price index report for April from March’s 4.3 per cent.The economy, meanwhile, has proved hotter than the Bank of Canada’s estimates: gross domestic product (GDP) was higher than forecast in the first quarter of the year, and expectations of a pronounced slowdown haven’t yet materialized.Avery Shenfeld, chief economist at CIBC Capital Markets, tells Global News that the economy can only run unchecked for so long before a flurry of spending drives prices

The national economy continued to grow overall in the first quarter of 2023 as consumers spent more in the face of recession fears, according to Statistics Canada.

mortgage rates are ratcheting up the pressure on Canadian landlords, especially young investors who are facing the harsh side of the interest rate cycle for the first time.A report released Thursday by Royal LePage shows higher payments are even pushing some housing investors to consider selling off their properties. But for 32-year-old Karim Najjar, that decision is about more than just writing off the loss on an investment.Najjar moved to Ottawa from Edmonton in 2017 and jumped into the housing market a year after he arrived.His timing into the market was good, Najjar recalls, as home prices soared in his first few years of ownership.

Signs of recovery in Canada’s housing market after a year-long slump, just as higher borrowing costs are expected to slow much of the rest of the economy, could raise inflation and delay a shift by the central bank to interest rate cuts, analysts said.

Bank of Canada wants to know what Canadians think about the possibility of a digital loonie.Consultations on what Canadians would like to have included in a digital currency are open online from May 8 until June 19, the Bank of Canada said Monday.The central bank notes, however, that the decision to launch a digital version of the Canadian dollar remains in the hands of Parliament and physical coins and banknotes aren’t going anywhere.Compared to private cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, which can sometimes fluctuate in value like a stock, a digital currency backed by the central bank would not be subject to the same level of volatility — it would always retain the same value as a Canadian dollar.The central bank wants to know how Canadians would use a hypothetical digital currency, as well as any concerns they have about security and accessibility.While the Bank reassured Canadians in its announcement that physical banknotes will always be available to those who want them, it said in a release Monday there could be a future where cash transactions are not common in day-to-day banking, which could inadvertently exclude some from the financial system.There is currently no need for a digital currency in Canada, the central bank said in the release.But it added that if other central banks or private organizations eventually adopt their own digital currencies — China and India are two such countries that have already taken the step — falling behind could be a risk to Canada’s economy and the stability of the financial system.“As Canada’s central bank, we want to make sure everyone can always take part in our country’s economy,” Carolyn Rogers, senior deputy governor at the central bank, said in a statement.

Bank of Canada will hold interest rates at the 15-year high 4.50 per cent until the end of 2023, before starting to cut rates at the start of next year, according to a median of market participants in the central bank’s survey released on Monday.The bank’s survey of market participants, the second iteration of the poll first released in February, showed a median of the participants forecasting interest rates dropping to 3.0 per cent by the end of 2024.Market participants in the first survey released in February had said rates would fall to 4.0 per cent by the end of the year.A median of 26 participants predicted a 0.1 per cent contraction of gross domestic product at the end of 2023, compared with a 0.4 per cent decline forecast in the last survey.The participants, surveyed from March 9 to 23, cited weaker housing market and tightening of financial conditions among top risks that could curtail Canadian growth.The bank raised interest rates eight consecutive times through January in an effort to cool high inflation that peaked at a four decade high last year.The bank has since kept rates steady at two meetings, in part because Governor Tiff Macklem has said the goal is to slow growth, but avoid a recession.Annual inflation rate eased to 4.3 per cent in March, but is still more than double the bank’s two per cent target.

interest rates over the last year is starting to throttle the pace of homebuilding, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) warned in a new housing supply report Wednesday.As the Bank of Canada’s interest rates rose substantially through 2022 and early 2023, many homebuyers were priced out of the market and home values retrenched from their pandemic-era highs.

Bank of Canada left its benchmark interest rate unchanged on Wednesday, in keeping with expectations from economists.The decision to keep its key policy rate at 4.5 per cent in its second consecutive meeting comes after a year of rapid rate hikes aimed at taming inflation. Read more: U.S.

The Bank of Canada is expected to hold its key interest rate steady this week as inflation continues to slow, despite other data suggesting the economy is still running hot.

Ottawa’s 2023 budget — will Canada’s previously roaring economy coast into a so-called “soft landing” as it slows, or tumble sharply into a recession?Ongoing calls from a chorus of economists predicting a recession to hit Canada in 2023 have come up against surprisingly strong economic data in the early part of the year, making the tea leaves of an economic downturn especially hard to read.A recession is a widespread decline in economic activity over a certain period of time – usually defined as two straight quarters of negative growth.Ottawa’s 2023 budget bases its economic forecast on a consensus of private sector economists.That document, released March 28, showed that economists’ place the odds of a recession higher than when they were last polled for the 2022 fall economic update.But if the economy is supposed to be slowing down right now, someone might want to tell the economy.January’s gross domestic product (GDP) figures outpaced initial estimates from Statistics Canada with 0.6 per cent growth, rebounding from the flat reading in the final quarter of 2022.Canada’s labour market meanwhile held tight with a 5.0 per cent unemployment rate through the first quarter of 2023. The country’s employers have been in a hiring mood as of late, with net 383,000 positions added since last September.

Despite a sizeable drop in home prices over the past year and a slew of federal government measures aimed at addressing housing affordability, a new poll suggests Canadians are no more encouraged about breaking into the housing market.

The 2023 federal budget saw the Liberals hike up their spending plans and devote plenty of attention to affordability concerns, but experts are unconvinced the proposals will make a dent on the finances of everyday Canadians, nor the country’s economic trajectory.

Canada’s housing market showed signs of life in February following a year of cooling off, but experts are watching the typically busy spring season to determine whether the correction has hit its bottom.

The fallout from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank has spread to the Canadian mortgage market, with some forecasters now expecting the Bank of Canada to cut interest rates sooner than previously thought.

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) has sent aftershocks through the global financial system and Canada is not immune from the impacts.The Toronto-based branch of the startup-focused financial institution was temporarily seized by Canada’s banking regulator on Sunday night as Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland echoed her American counterparts in calling for calm in the face of market uncertainty and fears of contagion spreading to banks north of the border. Read more: Silicon Valley Bank collapse: How the financial institution fell into ruin Experts who spoke to Global News on Monday said that most Canadians can be confident in the country’s banking system, but fallout from SVB’s collapse could be more substantial in some parts of the economy.Here’s what to know.U.S.

The Bank of Canada held its benchmark interest rate steady on Wednesday — a decision real estate players and economists say will have major implications for the Canadian housing market.

The Bank of Canada decided to hold its key interest rate steady Wednesday but made clear it’s still prepared to raise rates further depending on how inflation and the economy progress.

Statistics Canada said Tuesday.Gas prices were the biggest month-to-month Consumer Price Index report, the agency said, up 4.7 per cent from December.Food prices rose at a slightly higher rate than in December, up 10.4 per cent in January compared with 10.1 per cent the month before.Prices at the grocery store were higher for for meat (up 7.3 per cent), bakery products (up 15.5 per cent), dairy (up 12.4 per cent) and fresh vegetables (up 14.7 per cent).Statistics Canada said the cost fresh or frozen chicken rose 9.0 per cent annually, owed largely to avian flu outbreaks, supply chain kinks and strong seasonal demand.Canada’s annual inflation rate has been slowing since the summer, reaching 6.3 per cent in December.

The Bank of Canada’s rising interest rates have some variable-rate mortgage holders thinking about the upside of locking in a fixed rate, according to experts who spoke to Global News.

The Bank of Canada is expected to announce it will be raising its key interest rate Wednesday, making it the fifth consecutive increase this year.

The Bank of Canada’s efforts to tamp down on persistent inflation are increasing the odds of pushing the economy into a recession in the next year, according to some economists.

The Bank of Canada raised its benchmark interest rate to 1.5 per cent on Wednesday, marking a second straight increase of half a percentage point.

The Bank of Canada is likely to hike its benchmark interest rate another half a percentage point on June 1, further raising the cost of borrowing to tackle “persistent” inflation levels not seen in 30 years, economists predict.

A senior Bank of Canada official poured water on the idea that cryptocurrencies are a good hedge against inflation as the federal finance committee asked central bank leadership about the path to getting surging prices back under control.

The country’s benchmark interest rate is rising half a percentage point, the Bank of Canada announced Wednesday, the first time it has raised rates by more than 25 basis points in more than two decades.

The wording of the Bank of Canada’s new mandate has changed but the substance of it remains essentially the same, several economists say.

COVID-19 housing market extravaganza has, until recently, ignored condominiums. But no longer.In the Greater Toronto Area, condo prices were down 3.7 per cent annually in February and in Greater Vancouver up by a puny 2.5 per cent, even as both cities saw detached home values rise by double digits.But the demand for apartments is coming back — and fast.

Ratehub.ca and president of CanWise Financial, a mortgage brokerage.“Any lender who has not yet announced changes to their fixed rates is expected to do so by the end of this week,” Laird said in a statement via email.As of Feb.24, the lowest five-year fixed rate available on Ratehub.ca — and offered through Canwise Financial — was 1.39 per cent.“This rate is from a provider who has not yet announced a rate increase. We are expecting our best rate to be 1.54 percent by the end of this week,” Laird said.The rate hike would translate into a $32 monthly mortgage payment increase for someone buying a $500,000 home with a 10-per-cent down payment and a 25-year amortization, according to calculations provided by RateHub.

COVID-19 infections dampen near-term growth, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said on Tuesday.Macklem, speaking with reporters after a speech, said that while the arrival of effective vaccines had created more clarity around when the pandemic will end, the worsening second wave was putting a “chop” in the recovery.“Near-term, the situation is clearly looking more difficult, Infections are spreading,” he said.

Bank of Canada said Wednesday as it kept its key interest rate on hold and warned rising COVID-19 cases in Canada will weigh on near-term growth.The central bank said business restrictions in response to burgeoning case counts will hold down economic growth for the first three months of the new year and that the virus will “contribute to a choppy trajectory until a vaccine is widely available.”It also made a nod to federal aid to households and businesses that the bank said should maintain incomes during this second wave of COVID-19, and aid in recovery efforts.

COVID-19 pandemic.WinnipegREALTORS, a professional real estate association, saw 1,193 houses or condos sold in 2020’s 11th month — compared to a previous record of 900.“November was quite spectacular — we’ve had six consecutive months of record-breaking sales which began in earnest in June and has really never stopped,” said Peter Squire, the association’s vice-president of external relations and market intelligence. More than 15,000 homes have been sold in total this year, with $5 billion in total sales expected by the end of the year.Listings and sales dropped in April at the height of the pandemic’s first wave but bounced back in June.

mortgage with an interest rate of less than one per cent? That’s what HSBC, Canada’s seventh-largest bank by assets, is now advertising.The lender’s website now shows it is offering a new five-year variable mortgage rate of a mind-boggling low 0.99 per cent.