ottawabank of canada gov tiff macklem said monday that higher interest rates are working to slow demand and policy decisions in 2023 would be guided by incoming data we are watching very closely to see how the economy is responding to higher interest rates said mr macklem according to prepared remarks he was scheduled to deliver in vancouver british columbia the central bank last week raised its benchmark interest rate by a halfpercentage point to 425 and signaled it might be at or near the end of its rapid raterising campaign mr macklem in comments that reiterated what central bank officials said last week said there is evidence higher interest rates are working to slow domestic demand the banks outlook is for economic growth to be close to zero until mid2023 starting with its jan 25 ratepolicy decision mr macklem said decisions to either raise rates or pause and assess the impact of past rate increases  four percentage points in 2022  will depend on incoming data and our judgments about the outlook for inflation inflation climbed 69 in october which is down from a peak of 81 in june and there are early signs that momentum in underlying inflation is easing