The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday, Oct. 22, edition that weaker-than-expected inflation and a drop in retail sales helped to fuel speculation Friday about a possible interest-rate cut by the Bank of Canada. A Canadian Press dispatch to The Globe reports that while economists say the bar for a cut is high, the economic information did nothing to quell talk about a future rate cut following comments by Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz earlier last week that the possibility was actively discussed by the central bank's governing council. The BOC downgraded its economic outlook in its fall monetary policy report last week due to expected softness in the housing market and a weak outlook for exports. The central bank cut its forecast for economic growth to 1.1 per cent for this year, down from its July projection of 1.3 per cent, and lowered its estimate for 2017 to two per cent compared with an earlier call for 2.2 per cent. Statistics Canada said Friday that the consumer price index was up 1.3 per cent in September compared with a year ago.