Investing.com – The Bank of Canada left its benchmark interest rate unchanged in April, it announced on Tuesday.
In a statement, the bank said it was leaving its overnight cash rate unchanged at 1.00%, broadly in line with expectations.
According to the BoC, the global economic recovery is becoming more firmly entrenched and is expected to continue at a steady pace. The disasters that struck Japan in March will severely affect its economic activity in the first half of this year and create short-term disruptions to supply chains in advanced economies.
The BoC projects that the Canadian economy will expand by 2.9% in 2011 and 2.6% in 2012.
The accompanying rate statement released after the announcement said, “The persistent strength of the Canadian dollar could create even greater headwinds for the Canadian economy, putting additional downward pressure on inflation through weaker-than-expected net exports and larger declines in import prices.”
The statement added that, “Any further reduction in monetary policy stimulus would need to be carefully considered.”
Following the announcement, the Canadian dollar was down against its U.S. counterpart, with USD/CAD gaining 0.37% to hit 0.9602.
In a statement, the bank said it was leaving its overnight cash rate unchanged at 1.00%, broadly in line with expectations.
According to the BoC, the global economic recovery is becoming more firmly entrenched and is expected to continue at a steady pace. The disasters that struck Japan in March will severely affect its economic activity in the first half of this year and create short-term disruptions to supply chains in advanced economies.
The BoC projects that the Canadian economy will expand by 2.9% in 2011 and 2.6% in 2012.
The accompanying rate statement released after the announcement said, “The persistent strength of the Canadian dollar could create even greater headwinds for the Canadian economy, putting additional downward pressure on inflation through weaker-than-expected net exports and larger declines in import prices.”
The statement added that, “Any further reduction in monetary policy stimulus would need to be carefully considered.”
Following the announcement, the Canadian dollar was down against its U.S. counterpart, with USD/CAD gaining 0.37% to hit 0.9602.