OTTAWA, March 12 (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada released the following statement on Wednesday:

The Bank of Canada has cut its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 2.75 per cent, the lowest since July 2022. It is the seventh consecutive cut in the central bank’s monetary easing cycle as Canada’s inflation rate has been within policymakers’ target range of about 2 per cent.

The Bank of Canada trimmed its key policy rate by 25 basis points on Wednesday to 2.75% and raised concerns about inflationary pressures and weaker growth stemming from trade uncertainty and President Donald Trump's tariffs.

The Bank of Canada cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point and called the trade battle with the US a “new crisis,” but pushed back on expectations that policymakers were on a predetermined cutting path.

Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem, who cut the bank's key interest rate on Wednesday to 2.75 per cent, says trade conflict with the U.S. can be expected to 'weigh on economic activity, while also increasing prices and inflation.

The Canadian dollar rose after the Bank of Canada announced its seventh consecutive rate cut as investors appeared to look through the latest moves by policymakers. On Wednesday, the Canadian dollar was up 0.