The Bank of Canada today maintained its target for the overnight rate at the effective lower bound of ¼ percent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly ½ percent and the deposit rate is ¼ percent. The Bank is also continuing its quantitative easing (QE) program, with large-scale asset purchases of at least $5 billion per week of Government of Canada bonds. Both the global and Canadian economies are evolving broadly in line with the scenario in the July Monetary Policy Report (MPR), with activity bouncing back as countries lift containment measures. The Bank continues to expect this strong reopening phase to be followed by a protracted and uneven recuperation phase, which will be heavily reliant on policy support. The pace of the recovery remains highly dependent on the path of the COVID-19 pandemic and the evolution of social distancing measures required to contain its spread. The rebound in the United States has been stronger than expected, while economic performance among emerging markets has been more mixed. Global financial conditions have remained accommodative. Although prices for some commodities have firmed, oil prices remain weak. In Canada, real GDP fell by 11.5 percent (39 percent annualized) in the second quarter, resulting in a decline of just over 13 percent in the first half of the year, largely in line with the Banks July MPR central scenario. All components of aggregate demand weakened, as expected. As the economy reopens, the bounce-back in activity in the third quarter looks to be faster than anticipated in July. Economic activity has been supported by government programs to replace incomes and subsidize wages. Core funding markets are functioning well, and this h tweet at 10:01am: BOC: THE ECONOMY WILL CONTINUE TO REQUIRE EXTRAORDINARY MONETARY POLICY SUPPORT. tweet at 10:02am: BOC: WE ARE CONTINUING OUR LARGE-SCALE ASSET PURCHASE PROGRAM AT THE CURRENT PACE. tweet at 10:02am: BOC: WE WILL CONTINUE UNTIL THE RECOVERY IS WELL UNDERWAY AND WILL BE CALIBRATED TO PROVIDE THE MONETARY POLICY STIMULUS NEEDED TO SUPPORT THE RECOVERY AND ACHIEVE THE INFLATION OBJECTIVE.Bank of Canada leaves policy rate unchanged at 0.25% In a widely expected decision, the Bank of Canada (BoC) on Wednesday announced that it left its key rate unchanged at 0.25% at its September policy meeting. In its policy statement, the BoC reiterated that the economy will continue to require extraordinary monetary policy support. The USD/CAD edged slightly lower and was last seen losing 0.35% n a daily basis at 1.3185. Key takeaways as summarized by Reuters “Will hold the policy interest rate at the effective lower bound until economic slack is absorbed so that the 2% inflation target is sustainably achieved.” “Will continue large-scale asset purchase program at the current pace.” “Will continue until the recovery is well underway and will be calibrated to provide the monetary policy stimulus needed to support the recovery and achieve the inflation objective.”
