OTTAWA, April 29 (Reuters) – The Bank of Canada on Wednesday slightly lifted its growth forecasts for 2026 and 2027 on the assumption that U.S. tariffs remain unchanged and oil prices gradually decline to $75 a barrel by mid-2027.
In its quarterly monetary policy outlook, the bank said 2026 growth would be 1.2% compared to its 1.1% forecast in January and 2027 growth would be 1.6%, up from 1.5%.
On an annualised basis, first quarter growth in 2026 was 1.5%, down from the 1.8% predicted in January. Second quarter annualized growth will most likely be 1.5%. the bank said.
Annual inflation in 2026 will average 2.3%, up from the 2.0% forecast in January, before declining to 2.1% in 2027, added the bank, which targets 2.0% inflation.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren, editing by Promit Mukherjee)
((Reuters Ottawa bureau, +1 647 480 7921; david.ljunggren@tr.com))
Keywords: CANADA CENBANK/FORECASTS
