U.S. Fed likely to cut rates twice this year, economist says

Cooling inflation could lead the Bank of Canada to cut rates sooner than expected, even as the United States shows signs of strength.

That was one of the main takeaways of an interview with David Doyle, head of economics at Macquarie Group, on BNN Bloomberg in a television interview on Tuesday.

Canada’s inflation rate came in at 2.8 per cent for February, down from January’s level and lower than what economists were anticipating. That increased the odds that the central bank might be prepared to lower lending rates ahead of schedule, Doyle said.

“[The results] will probably send the message to the Bank of Canada that they’ve got the right idea in terms of ending the interest rate hiking cycle, and now it’s sort of to wait and see if we get more of that,” Doyle said.