By Paul Vieira
OTTAWA--Bank of Canada officials agreed on the need to change course quickly on rate policy depending on developments in the Middle East and trade tensions with the U.S., according to minutes of the latest central-bank deliberations.
For now, central policymakers agreed they could exhibit patience and leave the main interest rate unchanged despite the initial shock in gas prices stemming from the U.S.-Iran conflict.
"The situation could change quickly, and monetary policy might need to respond to guard against the risk that inflation broadens and becomes more persistent," said the minutes, which cover the six-member governing council's deliberations that started on April 21.
Eight days later, the central bank said it left its target for the overnight rate unchanged at 2.25%, adding that it anticipated little change in the rate level so long as the economy evolved as forecast.
That forecast assumed no changes in the level and magnitude of tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Canadian goods. Further, the Bank of Canada assumes that inflation would peak in April at about 3%, and that crude-oil prices ease toward the $75 a barrel level by mid-2027.
Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
05-13-26 1344ET
