Bank of Canada keeps interest rates unchanged, warns of Omicron uncertainty

• The Bank of Canada on Wednesday held its key overnight interest rate unchanged, as expected, and said inflation was broadening even as it warned that the Omicron coronavirus variant has created "renewed uncertainty." 
• The Central Bank, in a regular rate decision, left its key overnight interest rate at 0.25% and maintained guidance that economic slack would be absorbed in the "middle quarters" of 2022, setting the stage for the first rate hike as soon as April. 
• But it dropped a reference to the pressures pushing up prices as being "temporary," while noting employment had returned to pre-pandemic levels, with job vacancies high and wage growth picking up. 
• "Inflation is elevated and the impact of global supply constraints is feeding through to a broader range of goods prices," the Bank of Canada said.

(Source: Reuters)