The Bank of Canada holds
The announcement follows several good signs in the Canadian economy.
For starters, last Friday's jobs report was a slam dunk with the Canadian labor market adding 40,600 jobs in March, above expectations of 10,000 jobs.
Additionally, although February exports saw a reversion, Deutsche Bank chief economist John Clinkard noted that growth in the first quarter is likely to be much stronger than the BoC originally projected in January.
As such, "it is highly unlikely, given the combination of stronger growth and tame inflation, against a background of persisting concern about the health of the global economy, that the Bank will alter its target for the overnight rate," Clinkard wrote in a weekend note to clients.
However, he continued, "the accompanying Monetary Policy Report will reveal 1) the Bank's assessment of the effect of the surge in January output on its 2016 growth forecast 2) an analysis of the impact of the recently (March 22) released federal budget on the economy and 3) the impact of #1 and #2 on current and projected size of the output gap."
Last month, the BoC's statement indicated the bank saw the economy evolving broadly as it was expecting.
"Financial market volatility, reflecting heightened concerns about economic momentum, appears to be abating," the statement indicated. "Although downside risks remain, the Bank still expects global growth to strengthen this year and next."
The Canadian dollar is weaker by 0.1% at 1.2790 ahead of the Bank of Canada's announcement.
