Higher interest rates on the way
Posted Apr 20, 2010 8:42 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Bank of Canada is leaving the country’s key interest rate at 0.25 per cent for now.
However, better than expected economic growth and rising inflation could result in the Bank of Canada boosting that rate sooner than expected.
Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney has withdrawn his conditional commitment to keep the country’s key rate at 0.25 per cent until July.
That sets the stage for a quarter-point or even half-point hike on June 1st.
The announcement gave the loonie a bit of a boost on the financial markets, with our dollar trading above it’s U.S. counterpart.
The Bank of Canada is now predicting our economy will post growth of 3.75 per cent this year, which is almost a full percentage point better than earlier forecasts.
The Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist at Scotiabank , Aron Gample tells 660News consumers should use the next several weeks getting their financial house in order.
He says over the next 18 months interest rates could rise by as much as 3 per cent.
On Thursday the Bank of Canada will table it’s Monetary Policy Report which will shed more light on today’s announcement and where it believes the economy is headed.
