Bank of Canada mulled later timing for October rate cut, deliberations show

OTTAWA — The Bank of Canada's governing council was on the same page about the need to lower its benchmark interest last month — but the exact timing of the cut was up for debate.

The central bank today released the summary of deliberations from its decision two weeks ago to lower the policy rate by a quarter point to 2.25 per cent in its second consecutive cut.

Council members felt the cut was warranted as a weak economy hampered by U.S. tariffs would keep inflation around the Bank of Canada's two per cent target for the foreseeable future.

But some suggested that waiting until a later decision would give monetary policy-makers a better sense of how the economy was reacting to U.S. trade shifts as well as Ottawa's long-anticipated federal budget tabled just last week.

Arguments to cut