Bank of Canadas rate cut deliberations detail housing market anxieties – National [Video]

Top decision makers at the Bank of Canada had concerns that easing the cost of borrowing could lead to an “overheated housing market” before delivering a cut to the central bank’s policy rate earlier this month, newly released documents show.

The Bank of Canada released a copy of deliberations from its meeting on June 5 where it announced a quarter-point cut to the benchmark interest rate – the first in more than four years and an initial step in the expected easing cycle.

According to those meeting minutes, the Bank of Canada’s governing council weighed the various risks in keeping its policy rate unchanged – maintaining pressure on the economy, the housing market and inflation, by extension – or delivering a cut, as many economists and market watchers expected amid recent signs of easing price pressures.

The latest reading from Statistics Canada shows inflation cooled to 2.7 per cent annually in April. The overall inflation rate has slowed …