Two days ago Australia shocked the market when it unexpectedly hiked rates to 4.1%, an 11 year high, and warned of more hikes to come. Today, it was Canada's turn. Moments ago the BOC also hiked its overnight rate to 4.75% - the highest rate since 2001 - surprising median consensus which expected the central bank to extend its "pause" and remain unchanged from last month at 4.50%. The hike was expected by only about one in five economists in a Bloomberg survey, and markets had put the odds at about a coin flip. The Bank of Canada said that the "overall, excess demand in the economy looks to be more persistent than ... (full story)