Residents in Greater Napanee could feel the impact of the Bank of Canada’s latest interest rate hike through higher borrowing costs on mortgages, loans and lines of credit.
Citing what it calls “persistent inflation” the Bank of Canada increased its key lending rate one quarter of one percent to 2 and a half percent today.
Canada’s annual rate of inflation topped 3 percent last month due mostly to rising energy costs fuelled by the Middle East war.
In its monetary policy statement, the central bank noted the tightening of credit is needed to blunt the risk of higher energy prices affecting other areas of the economy.
Central Bank governor Tiff Macklem says policy makers believe raising interest rates now will help reign-in inflation sooner, noting interest rates are still low enough to not put a drag on the broader economy.
