The Bank of Canada has held its key interest rate at five per cent.

The rate-hold Wednesday morning is in line with what economists have been saying, the majority of whom expect the central bank to cut the rate at the next decision in June.

Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem would not say when the bank will start lowering interest rates. But he said he’s growing more confident that price pressures will continue to ease, following surprisingly large declines in both headline and core inflation in recent months.

“We are seeing what we need to see, but we need to see it for longer to be confident that progress toward price stability will be sustained,” Mr. Macklem said, according to the prepared text of his press conference remarks.

“The further decline we’ve seen in core inflation is very recent. We need to be assured this is not just a temporary dip.”