Chris Wattie/Reuters
Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz takes part in a news conference in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, July 13, 2016.
Economists expect that the bank will hold rates at 0.50%.
In fact, the Bloomberg World Interest Rate Probability sees a 0% probability of a rate hike.
The previous interest rate decision from the Bank of Canada came two days before the inauguration of US President Donald Trump.
At the time, the bank held rates and wrote in the accompanying policy statement that "uncertainty about the global outlook is diminished, particularly with respect to the United States." In particular, the bank was likely waiting to see what Trump, who had during his campaign espoused a protectionist agenda and articulated his intention to "renegotiate" the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, would do once he stepped into office.
"Given the considerable uncertainty surrounding exactly what policies the incoming Trump administration will pursue south of the border, we have every sympathy with the Bank of Canada's decision to leave interest rates unchanged at [January's] policy meeting," Paul Ashworth, chief North America economist at Capital Economics, wrote after the announcement.
The Canadian dollar is down by 0.2% at 1.3323 per US dollar as of 9:12 a.m. ET.
