Invis - April 15, 2020 It is no surprise the Bank of Canada held firm on its overnight rate of .25% (1/4 percent) and did not venture into negative interest rates that have been tried notably in Europe and Japan with no evidence that negative rates improved GDP outcomes. Generally, economists agree there will not be much of an effect from lower interest rates on new borrowing, because few firms and households will want to borrow to fund investment or [...]
[Global News - January 22., 2020] The Bank of Canada is keeping its key interest rate target on hold at 1.75 per cent and forecasting a slower-than-expected start for the Canadian economy for 2020. The central bank says in its latest forecast that the Canadian economy will grow by 1.6 per cent this year, down 0.1 of a percentage point from its projection in October. While some of the slowdown late last year is being chalked up to a strike at CN [...]
[Global News - October 30, 2019] The Bank of Canada is keeping its key interest rate on hold in a decision that positions the country as an exception among advanced economies already responding to the weakening world economy. Governor Stephen Poloz’s team says the domestic economy has held up well in many respects and inflation has been close to target. They warn, however, that Canada isn’t immune to the negative effects of slowing global growth. “In considering the appropriate path for monetary [...]
[Global News - September 4, 2019] The Bank of Canada held interest rates steady as expected on Wednesday but said the escalating U.S.-China trade war was doing more damage to the global economy than it had forecast in July. The central bank — which has sat on the sidelines since last October — maintained its key overnight rate at 1.75 per cent and made no mention of future moves. The current level of stimulus remained appropriate, it said, reiterating the pace of Canadian economic growth [...]
[July 19, 2019 - Huffpost] The Bank of Canada's posted mortgage rate is used in the stress test that many say has cooled Canada's housing markets. OTTAWA — The Bank of Canada has lowered the rate used by mortgage stress tests to determine whether would-be homeowners can qualify, marking the first drop in three years. The central bank’s five-year benchmark qualifying rate is now 5.14 per cent, down from 5.34 per cent. It’s the first decrease in the five-year fixed mortgage rate since September [...]
[CTV - March 6, 2019] Canada's central bank has decided to keep its benchmark interest rate at 1.75 per cent, and says the timing of possible future hikes has become increasingly uncertain. The Bank of Canada says the economic slowdown that began at the end of last year is a bit worse than it was expecting, including a sharper-than-anticipated slowdown in Canada's oil patch. The bank also singled out softness in the housing market and consumer spending as reasons for a gloomier [...]
[Source: Bank of Canada - May 30, 2018] The Bank of Canada today maintained its target for the overnight rate at 1¼ per cent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 1½ per cent and the deposit rate is 1 per cent. Global economic activity remains broadly on track with the Bank’s April Monetary Policy Report (MPR) forecast. Recent data point to some upside to the outlook for the US economy. At the same time, ongoing uncertainty about trade policies is dampening global [...]
[Source: BNN, January 12, 2018] Royal Bank of Canada raised its posted five-year fixed mortgage rate on Thursday, the first of Canada’s Big Five banks to make the move ahead of the Bank of Canada’s interest rate decision next week. RBC increased its posted five-year fixed rate by 15 basis points to 5.14 per cent, with more rate hikes across the board. “Rate changes reflect recent activity by competitors, and the current costs that we incur for funds on the wholesale market [...]
[Source: Global News, January 8, 2018] The Bank of Canada (BoC) is likely to raise interest rates again when it makes its next monetary policy announcement on Jan. 17, according to economists at Canada’s big banks. Increasing the chances of another rate hike is the upbeat tone of the latest quarterly release of the so-called Business Outlook Survey, a closely watched barometer of business sentiment in this country, which the central bank released on Monday. Canadian companies are feeling optimistic about the future and [...]
[Source: CTV News, September 6, 2017] OTTAWA -- The Bank of Canada is once again raising its benchmark interest rate as it sees the economy's powerful performance pointing to broader, more self-sustaining growth. The central bank hiked its rate Wednesday by one-quarter point to 1.0 per cent, its second 25-basis-point increase since July. The move, which will likely be a surprise for some, came less than a week after the latest Statistics Canada numbers showed the economy expanded by an impressive 4.5 [...]
