The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that the Bank of Canada decreased its benchmark interest rate to 4.5 per cent from 4.75 per cent for the second time on Wednesday. The Globe's Mark Rendell writes that inflation has significantly decreased over the last two years due to improvements in global supply chains, a slowdown in economic growth and the implementation of restrictive interest rates that have reduced consumer spending. With central bankers growing more confident that inflation is decreasing at an appropriate rate, they are now concerned about potentially surpassing the target and posing a risk to a smooth economic slowdown. Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said, "As inflation gets closer to the 2-per-cent target, the risk that inflation comes in higher than expected has to be increasingly balanced against the risk that the economy and inflation could be weaker than expected." He said it is "reasonable" to expect more rate cuts if inflation continues trending lower. He said, "The expected direction of our policy rate is lower, but we're not on a predetermined path." Desjardins's Royce Mendes said, "There's a strong sense that policy-makers feel an urgency to continue the rate-cutting cycle."