Bank of Canada Holds Rates, Loonie Tumbles as Forward Guidance Remains Dovish
Following through on a well-telegraphed pledge to hold policy steady, the Bank of Canada held its benchmark overnight rate at 4.50 percent this morning, and reiterated a “conditional” commitment to staying the course. The statement-only decision was not accompanied by new forecasts, but officials said “the latest data remains in line with the Bank’s expectation that CPI (Consumer Price Index) inflation will come down to around 3 percent in the middle of this year. Year-over-year measures of core inflation ticked down to about 5 percent, and 3-month measures are around 3½ percent. Both will need to come down further, as...