Monetary Policy Report – January 2025

The Bank of Canada today reduced its target for the overnight rate to 3%, with the Bank Rate at 3.25% and the deposit rate at 2.95%.1 The Bank is also announcing its plan to complete the normalization of its balance sheet, ending quantitative tightening. The Bank will restart asset purchases in early March, beginning gradually so that its balance sheet stabilizes and then grows modestly, in line with growth in the economy.2 Projections in the January Monetary Policy Report (MPR) published today are subject to more-than-usual uncertainty because of the rapidly evolving policy landscape, particularly the threat of trade tariffs by the new administration in the United States. Since the scope and duration of a possible trade conflict are impossible to predict, this MPR provides a baseline forecast in the absence of new tariffs. In the MPR projection, the global economy is expected to continue growing by about 3% over the next two years. Growth in the United States has been revised up, mainly due to stronger consumption. Growth in the euro area is likely to be subdued as the region copes with competitiveness pressure post: BOC: RATE CUTS ARE STARTING TO BOOST ECONOMY; RECENT STRENGTHENING IN BOTH CONSUMPTION AND HOUSING ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE. post: BOC: CPI INFLATION WILL BE AROUND THE 2% TARGET OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS. post: BOC ANNOUNCES AN END OF QUANTITATIVE TIGHTENING, AND WILL GRADUALLY RESTART ASSET PURCHASES IN EARLY MARCH. post: BOC: IF BROAD-BASED AND SIGNIFICANT TARIFFS WERE IMPOSED, THE RESILIENCE OF CANADA'S ECONOMY WOULD BE TESTED.

post: BOE GOV. BAILEY: IT'S IMPORTANT WE RAISE GROWTH RATE OF THE ECONOMY. post: BOE GOV. BAILEY: FINANCIAL STABILITY IS A FOUNDATION FOR GROWTH, THERE IS NO TRADE-OFF. post: BOE GOV. BAILEY: I'M SUPPORTIVE OF GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO BOOST GROWTH. post: BOE'S BAILEY: WE HAVE DELAYED BASEL BECAUSE OF US UNCERTAINTY, THERE IS A COMPETITION ISSUE HERE. post: BOE'S BAILEY: WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE RESERVES EQUILIBRIUM LEVEL IS.

Good morning. I’m pleased to be here with Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers to discuss our policy decision and the Monetary Policy Report (MPR). Today, we lowered the policy interest rate by 25 basis points. This is our sixth consecutive decrease and brings our policy rate to 3%. We also announced our plan to complete the normalization of our balance sheet, ending quantitative tightening. The Bank will restart asset purchases in early March, beginning gradually so that its balance sheet stabilizes this year and then begins to grow modestly in line with economic growth. We have three main messages this morning. First, inflation has been close to the 2% target since last summer. Monetary policy has worked to restore price stability. Second, lower interest rates are boosting household spending, and economic activity is picking up. Third, the potential for a trade conflict triggered by new US tariffs on Canadian exports is a major uncertainty. This could be very disruptive to the Canadian economy and is clouding the economic outlook. post: BOC'S GOV. MACKLEM: MONETARY POLICY CANNOT OFFSET TARIFFS BUT CAN HELP THE ECONOMY ADJUST. post: BOC'S GOV. MACKLEM: LONG-LASTING AND BROAD-BASED TRADE CONFLICT WOULD BADLY HURT ECONOMIC ACTIVITY IN CANADA. post: BOC'S GOV. MACKLEM: WITH INFLATION BACK AROUND THE 2% TARGET, WE ARE BETTER POSITIONED TO BE A SOURCE OF ECONOMIC STABILITY. post: BOC'S GOV. MACKLEM: WE CAN'T USE RATES TO LEAN AGAINST WEAKER OUTPUT AND HIGHER INFLATION AT THE SAME TIME.