Bank of Canada Maintains Overnight Rate

As was almost universally expected, the Bank of Canada maintained its overnight rate at 1.75% today. In its press release, the Bank said there is evidence the global economy is stabilizing and it expects global growth to edge higher over the next couple of years. Economic growth in Q3 2019, while lower than that in Q2, came in at the expected 1.3%, the household sector growth is holding up and inflation remains at around 2%. Not surprisingly, the bank noted international trade tensions as an ongoing wild card, and cited it (and the Canadian economy's ability to absorb tade shocks) as the key factor it will be monitoring in deciding whether to decrease the rate in 2020. The announcement was therefore relatively neutral in terms of whether we can expect any decreases in the coming year. You can read the press release on the Bank's website.