Prime Rate Predictions - It's Anyone's Guess

This month the Chief Economists for 6 of the major chartered banks in Canada laid out their predictions for what what we can expect from the Bank of Canada over the next 12 months.  The results are surprisingly divergent, once again proving that no one has a functioning crystal ball. 

The Chief Economists for TD Bank and BMO predicted absolutely no change to Prime rate over the next year.

The Chief Economists for CIBC and National Bank predicted a 0.5% rate increase by the fourth quarter of 2027. 

The Chief Economists for RBC and Scotiabank predicted a 1% increase to Prime rate by fourth quarter of 2027.  

The main take away from this, other than the fact that no one has any idea what is actually going to happen, is that none of the economists predicted an increase above 1% in the next 12 months. 

Based on how high fixed rates have gotten, variable rates are looking very attractive right now.