News Analysis
OTTAWA—The Bank of Canada gave a modest surprise on Oct. 26 by raising its overnight rate target by only 50 basis points (half a percentage point)—instead of 75 basis points—to 3.75 percent. Such a move could indicate the end is in sight for one of the most aggressive rate-hiking cycles the BoC has ever undertaken, albeit for different reasons, according to analysts.
“My reading of their decision was that they wanted to err on the side of caution,” Vivek Dehejia, an economics and philosophy professor at Carleton University, told The Epoch Times.
It would appear most of the heavy lifting has been done after total rate increases of 1.75 percentage points in July and September, and a total of 3 percentage points since March prior to the October decision. But even after the October hike, the BoC says there’s more to come….