Bank of Canada on standby to raise rates further, summary reveals hawkish tone to deliberations

Further interest rate hikes from the Bank of Canada are very much still on the table as its governing council remains split on whether rates may need to rise further. 

The central bank released its summary of deliberations Wednesday detailing the discussions governing council members had in the lead-up to its Oct. 25 rate decision.

The summary says some members believed it’s more likely than not that interest rates will need to go higher to get inflation back to target levels. 

But other members thought its key rate is now high enough to bring inflation down, so long as the central bank maintains it at that level for long enough. 

While the Bank of Canada ultimately decided to exert patience by holding its key rate steady at five per cent, members of the governing council agreed to revisit whether rates need to rise further. 

The central bank remains concerned that inflation is not falling fast enough, despite the economy responding to higher interest rates.