After announcing a rate hike this week, Bank of Canada deputy governor Paul Beaudry says the central bank plans to take future interest rate decisions one at a time.

Beaudry made the comments in a news conference on Thursday, which followed a speech he delivered to the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce.

The deputy governor91裸聊视频檚 public appearance comes one day after the central bank announced it was raising its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point, ending its pause on rate hikes and bringing the rate to 4.75 per cent.

The move fuelled speculation among economists that another rate hike is on the way next month, but Beaudry said nothing is predetermined.

91裸聊视频淓very decision is taken one at a time at this point,91裸聊视频� Beaudry said.

91裸聊视频淭here91裸聊视频檚 a set of data that we91裸聊视频檒l be looking at, we made that clear. And then we let the markets make their bets.91裸聊视频�

The decision to raise interest rates again wasn91裸聊视频檛 completely unexpected, given a recent string of hot economic data. But some economists had expected the central bank to wait a little longer to get more data before hiking rates again.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, Beaudry said the Bank of Canada is facing difficult decisions amid economic uncertainty, which means its moves may surprise people at times.

91裸聊视频淲hen we have difficult decisions 91裸聊视频� you take a jump at some point,91裸聊视频� Beaudry said.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 going to surprise some people.91裸聊视频�

Earlier this year, the Bank of Canada announced it was pausing its rate-hiking cycle to account for the lag that exists between interest rate increases and their effects on the economy.

But economic data released since April 91裸聊视频渢ipped the balance91裸聊视频� for the central bank in favour of raising interest rates again, the deputy governor said in his speech.

91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檝e had an accumulation of evidence 91裸聊视频� on many fronts, over time and across a whole set 91裸聊视频� that tell us that inflation seems to be more sticky and it91裸聊视频檚 going to be harder to get it down to that two per cent,91裸聊视频� Beaudry said.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 that accumulation of evidence that brought us to our (rate) decision.91裸聊视频�

Most economists estimate the lag between a rate hike and its economic impact is somewhere between one and two years. The majority of the Bank of Canada91裸聊视频檚 rate hikes happened less than a year ago, raising the question: why hike rates again?

The deputy governor, who will be leaving his position next month to return to his academic position at the University of British Columbia, said the central bank thinks the economy is too overheated, even when it takes the lags into consideration.

91裸聊视频淲e take into account all those lags, and what we should expect given the lags, and things were kind of more persistent,91裸聊视频� Beaudry said.

In his speech, the deputy governor says stronger growth, a tight labour market, and a rise in inflation in April suggest interest rates were not high enough.

Last week, Statistics Canada reported real gross domestic product grew at an annualized rate of 3.1 per cent in the first quarter.

Beaudry said the rapid rise in consumer spending took the central bank by surprise, while buyers appear to be returning to the housing market.

Progress made on the inflation front was also slightly reversed in April, as the annual rate ticked up to 4.4 per cent.

Meanwhile, the labour market has remained remarkably resilient, with an unemployment rate of five per cent.

91裸聊视频淲hen we looked at the dynamics in inflation combined with excess demand, that really has increased the risk that we are not going to be able to get inflation down without a bit more monetary tightening,91裸聊视频� Beaudry said.

Nojoud Al Mallees, The Canadian Press

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