Will the Bank of Canada cut interest rates again as trade war deepens? – National [Video]

The economic impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs will be in focus as the Bank of Canada is set to announce its overnight interest rate Wednesday.

Some analysts expect the central bank to cut its benchmark rate by 25 basis points, bringing it down to 2.5 per cent. Others expect the bank to hold the rate steady.

A cut would make it the eighth consecutive rate cut by the Bank of Canada.

The Royal Bank of Canada expects the overnight rate to be cut by 25 basis points.

“Our forecast for the Canadian economy this year has weakened since March. Tariffs are still expected to hurt Canadian exporters but concerns have also grown around a substantially softer U.S. outlook due to reciprocal tariffs and how that can spill over to impact Canada,” RBC economist Abbey Xu said in a note Tuesday.

Overall inflation eased for Canadians in March, but the end of the GST/HST holiday and Trump’s trade war continues …