The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday, March 7, edition that the Bank of Canada kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged for the fifth time in a row on Wednesday. The Globe's Mark Rendell writes that the BOC has kept the policy interest rate at 5 per cent, a level it reached last July. With the rate of inflation inching closer to the bank's 2-per-cent target, and the Canadian economy stagnating under the weight of high borrowing costs, BOC officials do not expect to raise interest rates further. At the same time, they are not yet willing to entertain rate cuts, which would offer relief to homeowners with mortgages and businesses struggling to pay debts. Governor Tiff Macklem says: "We need to give higher rates more time to do their work. We don't want to keep monetary policy this restrictive for longer than we have to. But nor do we want to jeopardize the progress we've made." There had been speculation on Bay Street that the bank might use Wednesday's announcement to pivot toward a more dovish stand and tee up interest-rate cuts in the coming months. The bank, however, maintained a cautious tone, even leaving the final paragraph of its rate announcement unchanged from its previous statement in January.