The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, Aug. 1, edition that the Bank of Canada once again held interest rates steady this week, and expectations of future rate cuts remain very low. The Globe's Salmaan Farooqui writes that interest-rate swap markets, which capture market expectations about monetary policy, imply an 85-per-cent chance of a rate hold when the central bank reconvenes in September, according to LSEG data. It is a bleak outlook for variable mortgage holders, who now have the potential to go the entirety of 2025 with no more rate cuts. Bond yields, which heavily influence fixed mortgage rates, have also remained high in the face of uncertainty around the U.S. trade war and inflation. Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem did point to one way variable rates could come down in his prepared remarks Thursday, saying that if a weakening economy puts downward pressure on inflation, "there may be a need for a reduction in the policy interest rate." For now, however, there is little evidence that rate relief is on the way for both variable or fixed mortgages.