PBO expects Bank of Canada to hold rates for remainder of year

The Parliamentary Budget Office has trimmed its forecast for economic growth this year.

The PBO’s latest economic and fiscal outlook predicts the economy will grow by 1.0% this year followed by 1.6% in 2024. The outlook compares with the agency’s October forecast for growth of 1.2 for 2023 and 2.3% in 2024.

It expects a decline in residential investment and weakness in consumer spending in the first half of the year, while businesses reduce their inventory investment over the course of 2023 as the growth in sales slows.

The PBO also predicts the Bank of Canada will keep its key interest rate target on hold at 4.5% for the rest of 2023 before starting to cut in 2024.

The federal budget watchdog forecasts the central bank will begin cutting its key policy rate in January 2024 by a quarter of a percentage point at each of its eight fixed announcement dates next year.

The PBO’s outlook projects a federal budget deficit of $36.5 billion for Ottawa’s 2022–23 fiscal year and an increase in the shortfall to $43.1 billion for 2023–24 due to a slowdown in revenue growth and higher program expenses.

The Canadian Press

The Canadian Press is a national news agency headquartered in Toronto and founded in 1917.