The Bank of Canada raised its benchmark interest rate to 0.5 per cent on Wednesday, a move that’s expected to be the first of a series of small rate hikes this year in an attempt to tame inflation that has risen to its highest point in decades.
It’s the first time the bank has raised its rate since 2018. Before the pandemic, the bank’s rate was 1.75 per cent, before it quickly slashed the rate down to 0.25 per cent to help the economy.
The Bank of Canada’s rate affects the rates that Canadian consumers get on things like mortgages, lines of credit and savings accounts at their own banks.
While the bank has been telegraphing its plans to raise its rate to fight inflation for a while now, the bank acknowledged in its announcement Wednesday that inflation is heating up even faster than anticipated.
Click here to read the full article.
