(Calgary) The Bank of Canada may need to raise interest rates further as inflation could remain high for some time, central bank Governor Tiff Macklem warned Thursday.
The governor’s remarks, taken from the text of a speech prepared for the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, follow the central bank’s decision Wednesday to keep its key interest rate at 5% amid signs of economic slowdown is increasing.
Still, Macklem said Thursday that the central bank’s governing council had agreed that rates may need to rise again if inflationary pressures persist.
Annual inflation stood at 3.3% in July in Canada, but the Bank of Canada expects it to accelerate in the coming months, before falling again.
Macklem says slowing progress in reducing inflation could mean previous rate hikes need more time to take effect, or that interest rates aren’t high enough.
