The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday, Jan. 27, edition that the Bank of Canada is expected to leave interest rates unchanged on Wednesday. The Globe's Mark Rendell writes that the BOC hit cruise control last month, after cutting interest rates nine times since the summer of 2024. The policy rate was steady at 2.25 per cent in December. Further moves in either direction are unlikely any time soon. Economic growth in Canada is muted, unemployment is elevated and businesses remain wary of hiring and investing, given the uncertainty around the future of the North American free-trade pact, the USMCA, which is scheduled for a review in July. Still, Canada has so far avoided the recession many economists were predicting this time last year. Likewise, inflation continues to run slightly hot, with annual Consumer Price Index inflation ticking up to 2.4 per cent in December. But that is well within the bank's control range, and core inflation measures that capture underlying price trends moved lower last month. BMO's Benjamin Reitzes says: "The economy is hanging in there. I guess the question is how long that can persist for. ... We'll see what happens with trade and trade negotiations."