Bank of Canada hikes key interest rate 50 basis points for 1st time in 22 years
The country’s benchmark interest rate is rising half a percentage point, the Bank of Canada announced Wednesday, the first time it has raised rates by more than 25 basis points in more than two decades.
The central bank’s key overnight rate now stands at one per cent.
This is the second consecutive interest rate hike in 2022, after the Bank of Canada increased rates by 25 basis points in March, breaking a period of steady rates held at historic lows over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wednesday’s 50-basis-point hike was widely expected by economists and market watchers who argued the central bank would have to act swiftly to get rampant inflation under control.
The Bank of Canada last raised interest rates by 50 basis points in May 2000.
More to come.
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