MNI: BOC- Inflation Fight Not Done, Prepared To Hike Further

Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem told reporters Wednesday that he's prepared to raise interest rates again if the previous eight moves aren't sufficient to slow inflation all the way back to the 2% target.

"The work of monetary policy- the full impact of the the policy rate increases we've undertaken so far- is not done," Macklem said in an opening statement for a press conference. Earlier he held the benchmark lending rate at 4.5%, while dropping language about a likely pause and keeping a phrase about potential further tightening.

"If monetary policy is not restrictive enough to get us all the way back to the 2% target, we are prepared to raise the policy rate further to get there," he said. Officials discussed whether the policy rate needs to remain restrictive for longer, he said. The main upside risk is stubborn services inflation and the main downside risk is a global recession, though the upside is more important with inflation well above target, he said. "Several things still have to happen to get inflation all the way back to target."