MNI BRIEF: Bank of Canada's Macklem Affirms Conditional Pause

Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem repeated that he is likely finished raising interest rates unless inflation proves unexpectedly stubborn, saying the 425bps of tightening over the last year should be enough to bring inflation all the way back to a 2% target.

"The restrictive stance of monetary policy is helping to rebalance demand and supply," Macklem told the House of Commons finance committee on Thursday. His comments didn't provide an assessment of a recent report showing surprisingly strong job growth that led investors to erase some bets on a rate cut later this year. (See: MNI INTERVIEW: BOC Too Optimistic On CPI Slowdown: Ex Official)