"With inflation running hot, the BoC will likely signal a series of rate hikes in the coming meetings," Priscilla Thiagamoorthy, an economist at BMO Capital Markets, said in a note. Money markets expect five further hikes this year, which would lift the policy rate to the 1.75% level it stood at before the coronavirus crisis. Analysts are also standing by for potential guidance from the BoC on shrinking its bloated balance sheet, a process known as quantitative tightening.