Economics

Upbeat Bank of Canada Pours Cold Water on Rate Cut Speculation

  • Central bank leaves benchmark interest rate unchanged at 1.75%
  • Growing confidence in rebound tempered by global trade risks

Governor Stephen Poloz and his senior deputy, Carolyn Wilkins, leave the Bank of Canada in Ottawa.

Photographer: David Kawai/Bloomberg
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The Bank of Canada expressed growing confidence the country’s economy is rebounding from its recent soft patch, solidifying Governor Stephen Poloz’s status as one of the world’s more upbeat central bankers.

In a decisionBloomberg Terminal Wednesday, policy makers in Ottawa left interest rates unchanged for a fifth straight time and continued to indicate they see no need to move borrowing costs anytime soon. They said recent data has “reinforced” their view a slowdown at the end of 2018 and early 2019 was temporary, while acknowledging mounting global trade risks were “heightening uncertainty” around the outlook.