BoC’s Macklem: Officials discussed need for potential hikes at last meeting

Bank of Canada (BoC) Governor, Tiff Macklem mentioned on Friday, that the governing council discussed raising interest rates on Wednesday when they decided to leave them on hold at 4.50%, as expected. 

BoC Governor reiterated that interest rates may need to stay at higher levels for a longer period of time to get inflation back to the target. Regarding quantitative tightening, he said that will likely continue amid interest rate normalization, but it could end earlier if the economy needs stimulus. 

Macklem is in Washington attending the International Monetary Fund Spring Meeting. 

Market reaction

USD/CAD is hovering around 1.3365, up on Friday, but on its way to the lowest weekly close since February. The Loonie outperformed during the week.