Central Banks

Bank of Canada Upends Markets by Boosting Policy Rate to 4.75%

  • Overheating economy cited as reason for 25 basis-point hike
  • Macklem doesn’t give explicit guidance on next potential move
The Bank of Canada unexpectedly raised it overnight lending rate to 4.75% on Wednesday, the highest since 2001. BNN Bloomberg’s Amber Kanwar reports.Source: Bloomberg
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The Bank of Canada defied expectations by restarting its interest-rate tightening campaign, saying the economy is running too hot.

Policymakers led by Governor Tiff Macklem raised the overnight lending rate to 4.75% on Wednesday, the highest since 2001. The move was expected by only about one in five economists in a Bloomberg survey, and markets had put the odds at about a coin flip.