The Bank of Canada raised the key interest rate by half a percentage point to 1.5 percent, marking the second consecutive time it has increased by a larger-than-usual amount amid strongly high inflation.

The central bank raised the key interest rate by half a percentage point in April to one percent – the largest increase in 22 years, following another increase of a quarter of a percentage point in March.

The Bank of Canada is making changes to the interest rate in an attempt to control inflation with the goal of reaching 2 percent.

It is noteworthy that according to Statistics Canada, the annual inflation rate rose to 6.8 percent in April, the fastest annual increase in more than three decades, and also the highest level since January 1991.

On the other hand, gas prices rose more than 36 percent, while grocery prices increased by about 10 percent.

It is worth mentioning that the high cost of consumer goods from gasoline to groceries has led experts to speculate that more interest rate hikes are on the horizon this year.

The war in Ukraine has led to higher wheat prices because a large portion of the world’s wheat is grown in that area.

In the same context, this conflict is also a major driver of gas prices, which in turn affect many other products, partly due to transportation costs.

More to come shortly....