By Promit Mukherjee
OTTAWA (Reuters) – The Bank of Canada will likely cut its benchmark rate by a quarter point on Wednesday to cushion the economy against U.S. tariffs, several economists said.
If the BoC delivers the 25-basis-point cut, it will be the bank’s seventh consecutive reduction, bringing down the policy rate to 2.75%, a massive 225-bps drop from nine months ago.
“The bank governor will err on the side of supporting the economy during what could be a downtrend from the tariffs,” said Tony Stillo, director at forecasting and analysis group Oxford Economics.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s abrupt shifts on the timing, products involved and extent of tariffs on imports from Canada have already created uncertainty among businesses and households, hurting investment and spending.
The potential impact of retaliation from Canada has heightened the unpredictability further.
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