Bank of Canada cuts key interest rate to 3.75%

Business·Breaking

The Bank of Canada has lowered its key interest rate to 3.75 with a 50 basis-point cut, twice the size of the previous cut.

Wednesday’s 50 basis-point cut is twice the size of previous cut

The profile of a seated man in a suit is visible against a backdrop of Canadian flags lined up.
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem addresses a news conference in Ottawa on Sept. 4. The Bank of Canada has lowered its key interest rate to 3.75 with a 50 basis-point cut. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)

The Bank of Canada has lowered its key interest rate to 3.75 per cent with a 50 basis-point cut, twice the size of the previous cut.

Economists were largely expecting the central bank to make a bigger-than-usual cut. As concerns over inflation have subsided, the bank has focused on cutting to support economic growth, which has slowed under the pressure of high rates.

“If the economy evolves broadly in line with our latest forecast, we expect to reduce the policy rate further,” the bank wrote in a news release on Wednesday morning.

It repeated a now-familiar refrain: “We will take decisions one meeting at a time.”

Governor Tiff Macklem is expected speak during a news conference explaining the decision today at 10:30 a.m. ET.

More to come.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jenna Benchetrit is the senior business writer for CBC News. She writes stories about Canadian economic and consumer issues, and has also recently covered U.S. politics. A Montrealer based in Toronto, Jenna holds a master’s degree in journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University. You can reach her at [email protected].

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