BoC will hold until markedly lower growth – ING

By FXStreet FXStreet (Guatemala) – James Knightley, analyst at ING Bank explained that the Bank of Canada has left the overnight rate target at 0.5%.

Key Quotes:

“The market was fairly evenly split between a cut and no change, but the general tone of the accompanying statement suggests that there is little appetite for another rate cut in the near future.

The BoC have scaled back their near-term growth expectations given the weakness in commodity based industries, but emphasise that the economy is increasingly focusing on the non-resource sector and that strong US demand, a weak currency and loose monetary and financial conditions are supportive. Indeed, they remain fairly upbeat on the growth outlook, predicting 1.5%GDP growth this year and 2.5% next. This is versus a 1.8% consensus figure for this year and 2.2% for 2017.

The BoC also highlights the “resilient” labour market and “the positive impact of fiscal measures expected in the next federal budget”. So, with the risks to the inflation outlook looking “roughly balanced” it appears that we are going to have to see growth disappoint markedly to generate a further move lower in the policy rate.”
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Source:: FX Street