growth of 2.8 percent by year end. On 12 July 2017, the bank issued a statement that the benchmark rate would be increased to 0.75%. "The economy can handle very well this move we have today and of course you need to preface that with an acknowledgment that of course interest rates are still very low," Governor Stephen Poloz subsequently said. In its press release, the bank had confirmed that the rate would continue to be evaluated at least partly on the basis of inflation. "Future adjustments to the target for the overnight rate will be guided by incoming data as they inform the bank's inflation outlook, keeping in mind continued uncertainty and financial system vulnerabilities." Poloz refused to speculate on the future of the economy but said, "I don't doubt that interest rates will move higher, but there's no predetermined path in mind at this stage". By the end of 2018, the Bank of Canada had raised rates up to 1.75% from a low of 0.5% in May 2017 in response to robust economic growth. Rates remained at 1.75% for the duration of 2019. In March 2020, interest rates were quickly lowered to 0.25% in response to the economic conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the Bank of Canada undertook the controversial practice of quantitative easing, whereby the Central Bank increases the money supply to create funds for government spending. The sudden increase in the money supply contributed to Canada's inflation rate reaching 4.8%, the highest in over 30 years. By October 2021, the Central Bank stopped its practice of quantitative easing, and accelerated the timeline of increasing interest rates to pre-pandemic levels. In March 2022, The Bank of Canada raised its benchmark interest rate for the first time in over three years, claiming that future rate increases are needed to fight inflationary pressures expected to worsen due to the Ukraine war. Canada's central bank raised its overnight rate goal by a quarter-percentage point to 0.50 percent. After the Bank of England, the Bank of Canada is the second Group of Seven central banks to raise rates since the outbreak began. On 29 November 2022, the Bank of Canada reported its quarterly earnings for the third financial quarter of that year. It reported a loss of C$522 million. This was the first time in its history that it reported a loss. This loss was first reported on in