OTTAWA—The Bank of Canada on Wednesday raised its policy rate by a full percentage point and judged that further rate increases are necessary, marking one of the most dramatic moves to date by a developed-world central bank to drive down inflation.
The Bank of Canada lifted its target for the overnight rate to 2.50% from 1.50%, the biggest onetime increase since 1998, when monetary officials tried to bolster the domestic currency amid financial crises in Asia and Russia. The last time the Bank of Canada’s policy rate was this high was in the fall of 2008, or prior to the onset of the global financial crisis. All but one of 12 economists surveyed last week by The Wall Street Journal predicted an increase of 0.75 points.
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