Canadian market experts see rates starting to drop in April - BoC survey

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian market participants expect the Bank of Canada (BoC) to start lowering its key policy rate from a 22-year high of 5% in April, the same as their previous forecast, according to a survey released by the central bank on Monday.

The bank's fourth-quarter survey of Canadian market participants, which includes economists and financial strategists, was conducted from Dec. 18 to Dec. 29 - before official data for December showed an acceleration in inflation.

By the end of 2024, the market experts' median forecast is for the policy rate to come down to 4%, the same as their forecast in the previous survey released in November.

(Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa; Editing by Promit Mukherjee)