OTTAWA (Reuters) – The Bank of Canada kept its key interest rate at a record low on Wednesday and reduced the scope of its bond-buying program, predicting that inflation would be higher than previously forecast in the near term.FILE PHOTO: Governor of the Bank of Canada Tiff Macklem walks outside the Bank of Canada building in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on June 22, 2020. The Bank of Canada also said the risks of a COVID-19 pandemic to Canada’s economy had “significantly diminished,” and that growth should pick up in the third quarter of 2021 after being weaker than expected in the first half of the year. The Bank of Canada raised its growth forecast for 2022 to 4.6 percent from 3.7 percent, indicating that economic slack will be absorbed in the second half of 2022, though it cautioned that the estimated timing remains “highly imprecise.” Canada is expected to achieve broad COVID-19 immunity in the third quarter of 2021, boosting consumer confidence./n
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