The Financial Post reports in its Thursday, Dec. 12, edition that the Bank of Canada cut its policy rate by 50 basis points to 3.25 per cent on Wednesday, marking the fifth consecutive cut this year and the second half-point reduction in a row. The Post's Jordan Gowling writes that the overnight rate is now at the top of the BOC's neutral range, similar to actions taken at the start of the pandemic in 2020 and during the 2008 financial crisis. Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said in prepared remarks: "With inflation back to target, we have cut the policy rate by 50 basis points at each of the last two decisions because monetary policy no longer needs to be clearly in restrictive territory. We want to see growth pick up to absorb the unused capacity in the economy to keep inflation close to two per cent." BMO economist Douglas Porter notes the BOC has now cut by 175 basis points this year. He says, "The bank thus retains the crown of most aggressive rate-cutter in the world (no other G10 central bank has cut by more than 125 basis points and the Fed is at 75 basis points so far)." The BOC acknowledges growth in the second half of 2024 is expected to be slower than forecast.