Citi economist who called Bank of Canada rate hike predicts another to come

An economist who was the first to predict a June rate hike from the Bank of Canada said she expects another increase next month as sticky inflation remains a concern.

Veronica Clark of Citi was in the minority of economists tracked by Bloomberg who expected a rate increase in June, with the majority predicting another pause.

But she said the data of the last few months showed inflation, despite dropping significantly since last year’s highs, remained too elevated for the Bank of Canada to stay on the sidelines, and other economic data remained too hot for the bank to achieve its goals.

“You don't want to be predicting that inflation is persistently too high, that's definitely not a good thing for anyone, but that is the fact of the matter,” Clark told BNN Bloomberg in a television interview on Thursday.