Bank of Canada (BoC) Governor Tiff Macklem warned Canadians should expect a poor economy and high interest rates throughout 2024, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. “We are not forecasting a deep recession,” said Macklem at a press conference. “Right now, growth has stalled.”When it comes to economic growth, Macklem said it stalled around the middle of last year. He predicted growth to continue to be close to zero. “That is very weak growth,” he said. “When you are projecting something close to zero, it could be some small positives, it could be some small negatives.”The BoC said on Wednesday the end is near as far as interest rate hikes go.READ MORE: Bank of Canada signals end to rate hikes, cuts could come by JuneThat was the main takeaway from the BoC’s latest rate announcement, which signalled a softer tone going forward.Although it held rates steady at 5% — a 22-year high — for a fourth consecutive meeting, analysts had been looking for language that would provide an indicator of its future plans in the coming months. The next rate announcement is on March 6. Macklem said no relief is expected. A reporter asked him if there was any broad timeline for when people could expect interest rate cuts. He called it “premature to discuss reducing our policy rate.”Since the BoC wants to have lower interest rates, a reporter asked what inflation rate he would be comfortable with before changing them. He said he would not put a specific number on it. He acknowledged Canadians want interest rates to come down. So does the BoC. Macklem said Canada is not there yet. “We are concerned about the persistence in underlying inflationary pressures,” he said. The BoC said in a report inflation was too high and risky. “Shelter price inflation is high and is expected to put upward pressure on inflation for some time,” it said.Given inflation is above 3% and underlying inflation is proving persistent, it said it “remains concerned that upside risks could materialize and cause inflation to remain above the target for longer than expected.”“Considerable uncertainty remains about the pace of future decreases in inflation,” it said. “While the slowdown in the economy is anticipated to reduce inflationary pressures, other forces could keep inflation above the target for longer than expected.”
