The Bank of Canada held its overnight target rate at 5.00% at its April 2024 policy meeting, publishing its quarterly Monetary Policy Report alongside the decision. The Governing Council's choice to keep the rate unchanged extends a holding pattern that has been in place since the Bank concluded its tightening cycle.
The report projected that inflation would stay close to 3% in the first half of 2024 and move below 2.5% in the second half. The Bank does not expect inflation to reach the 2% target until 2025.
OUTLOOK FOR A JUNE CUT
Markets had seen a first cut as early as June, and Governor Tiff Macklem said after the decision that a June cut was 'within the realm of possibilities' if inflation kept easing.