Bank Of Canada Leaves Interest Rates Unchanged After Two Straight Cuts

(RTTNews) - Following two consecutive interest rate cuts, the Bank of Canada on Wednesday announced its widely expected decision to leave rates unchanged.

The Bank of Canada said it decided to hold its target for the overnight rate at 2.25 percent, with the Bank Rate at 2.5 percent and the deposit rate at 2.20 percent.

The decision to leave rates unchanged came as the BoC's Governing Council believes the current policy rate is at about the right level to keep inflation close to 2 percent while helping the economy through a period of structural adjustment.

The BoC noted that "uncertainty remains elevated" and stressed that it is prepared to respond if the economic outlook changes.

"The Bank is focused on ensuring that Canadians continue to have confidence in price stability through this period of global upheaval," the BoC said.

The BoC's statement noted that Canadian economy grew by a "surprisingly strong" 2.6 percent in the third quarter, with the jump in GDP largely reflecting volatility in trade.

The Canadian central bank said it expects final domestic demand to grow in the fourth quarter but predicted GDP will be weak due to an anticipated decline in net exports

"Growth is forecast to pick up in 2026, although uncertainty remains high and large swings in trade may continue to cause quarterly volatility," the BoC said.

The Bank of Canada's next scheduled date for announcing the overnight rate target is January 28, 2026.