Bank of Canada reduces policy rate by 25 basis points to 4½%

eAwazLocal News

Ottawa – The Bank of Canada today reduced its target for the overnight rate to 4½%, with the Bank Rate at 4¾% and the deposit rate at 4½%. The Bank is continuing its policy of balance sheet normalization. The global economy is expected to continue expanding at an annual rate of about 3% through 2026. While inflation is still above …

Unemployment rate held steady at 5.0% in March

eAwazLocal News

Ottawa – Employment rose by 35,000 (+0.2%) in March, and the unemployment rate held steady at 5.0%. There were more people employed in transportation and warehousing (+41,000; +4.2%); business, building and other support services (+31,000; +4.4%); as well as finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (+19,000; +1.3%). At the same time, employment declined in construction (-19,000; -1.2%); “other services” (which …