WILL THERE BE A PAUSE ON INTEREST RATE INCREASE?
Canada’s annual rate of inflation fell to 5.9% in January, a higher drop than expected as yearly price growth continued to slow.
Statistics Canada said on Tuesday that prices were up by 4.9% without taking into account increases in the cost of food and gasoline, although mortgage interest costs saw a huge spike of 21.2% on an annual basis and food prices increased by 10.4% year over year.
Better news than anticipated on the inflation front – analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a 6.1% overall pace in January – could help convince the Bank of Canada that a further hike to its benchmark interest rate is not required at its next announcement, scheduled for March 8, with the central bank having already indicated that it’s ready to hit pause on rate hikes if economic indicators play out as expected.
