The Financial Post reports in its Thursday, Sept. 5, edition that the Bank of Canada cut its policy interest rate for the third consecutive time on Wednesday and signalled that more cuts were ahead as concern about a weakening economic picture takes on greater importance in the bank's risk assessment process. The Post's Jordan Gowling writes that Governor Tiff Macklem, in prepared remarks in Ottawa, said, "We will continue to assess the opposing forces on inflation, and take our monetary policy decisions one at a time." Those opposing forces include the risk of the economy weakening further. Canada's gross domestic product beat the BOC's own forecast with 2.1-per-cent growth in the second quarter, but gross domestic product in June and an early estimate for July were flat. The unemployment rate has climbed to 6.4 per cent and hiring remains soft. Mr. Macklem said, "As inflation gets closer to target, we want to see economic growth pick up to absorb the slack in the economy so inflation returns sustainably to the 2 per cent target." Rosenberg Research's David Rosenberg expects interest rate relief will continue as the economic picture worsens.
© 2024 Canjex Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.