The Bank of Canada has announced it’s holding its benchmark interest rate steady at 5-percent while signalling it has begun discussing the timing of rate cuts.

According to prepared remarks, governor Tiff Macklem says discussions at the central bank are shifting from whether its key policy rate is high enough to how long it needs to maintain it at 5-percent.

Despite the positive messaging on Wednesday, Macklem maintains that the central bank is not ruling out more rate hikes if inflation doesn’t co-operate.

Canada’s annual inflation rate has steadily declined over the last year and a half but ticked up again in December to 3.4-percent.

The Bank of Canada’s new forecasts suggest inflation is still expected to return to 2- percent in 2025.