Imaan Sheikh is the Managing Editor at Daily Hive. You can reach her at imaan@dailyhive.com

<p>Last month, the Bank of Canada <a href="https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/boc-interest-rate-cut-december-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lowered</a> its key interest rate from 3.75% to 3.25% in its fifth and final major announcement of the year.</p>
<p>Experts had predicted a 0.25% interest rate cut, but that changed after Canada’s unemployment rate rose to 6.8% — a nearly eight-year high if you exclude the peak pandemic years of 2020 and 2021.</p>
<p>“Consumer spending and housing activity both picked up, suggesting lower interest rates are beginning to boost household spending,” stated the BoC.</p>
<p>“With inflation around 2%, the economy in excess supply, and recent indicators tilted towards softer growth than projected, Governing Council decided to reduce the policy rate by a further 50 basis points to support growth and keep inflation close to the middle of the 1-3% target range,” it added.</p>
<p>The Bank also made a <a href="https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/boc-interest-rate-cut-october-23" target="_blank" rel="noopener">jumbo-sized cut in October</a>, reducing its key interest rate by half a point to 3.75%. It has been lowering the policy rate substantially since June when it <a href="https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/boc-interest-rate-announcement-june-5-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dropped</a> the interest rate from a longstanding 5% to 4.75%. That move was the first in more than four years, following six rate holds.</p>
<p>The next policy rate update is set for January 29, 2025.</p>
<div id="attachment_2005279" style="width: 1930px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2005279" class="size-full wp-image-2005279" src="https://images-dh-production-baselayer.dailyhive.com/uploads/2024/07/shutterstock_2409256707.jpg" alt="boc" width="1920" height="1440" srcset="https://images-dh-production-baselayer.dailyhive.com/uploads/2024/07/shutterstock_2409256707.jpg 1920w, https://images-dh-production-baselayer.dailyhive.com/uploads/2024/07/shutterstock_2409256707-500x375.jpg 500w, https://images-dh-production-baselayer.dailyhive.com/uploads/2024/07/shutterstock_2409256707-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://images-dh-production-baselayer.dailyhive.com/uploads/2024/07/shutterstock_2409256707-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://images-dh-production-baselayer.dailyhive.com/uploads/2024/07/shutterstock_2409256707-1200x900.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /><p id="caption-attachment-2005279" class="wp-caption-text">The Bank of Canada building in Ottawa (Gary A Corcoran Arts/Shutterstock)</p></div>
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<h2>Keep up with rate updates in 2025</h2>
<p>The BoC&#8217;s announcements alternate between pure interest rate updates and rate updates in conjunction with monetary policy reports and commentary.</p>
<p>The Bank is expected to release a rate-and-report combo on January 29.</p>
<p>Those keen on staying on the pulse of the market should follow the <a href="https://x.com/bankofcanada?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BoC&#8217;s X account</a> and look at morning updates on the following dates:</p>
<ul>
<li>Wednesday, January 29, 2025 (rate update, monetary policy report, and commentary)</li>
<li>Wednesday, March 12, 2025 (rate update only)</li>
<li>Wednesday, April 16, 2025 (rate update, monetary policy report, and commentary)</li>
<li>Wednesday, June 4, 2025 (rate update only)</li>
<li>Wednesday, July 30, 2025 (rate update, monetary policy report, and commentary)</li>
<li>Wednesday, September 17, 2025 (rate update only)</li>
<li>Wednesday, October 29, 2025 (rate update, monetary policy report, and commentary)</li>
<li>Wednesday, December 10, 2025 (rate update only)</li>
</ul>
<p>All announcements typically drop at 9:45 am ET (6:45 am PT). You can also subscribe <a href="https://www.bankofcanada.ca/email-alerts/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> for email updates.</p>
<p>Keep up with what experts think about Canadian markets and upcoming interest rate updates on Daily Hive.</p>
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The Bank of Canada will publish its next policy rate update on January 29, 2025, along with a monetary policy report and commentary.