Economics
Bank of Canada Opens Door to Rate Cut on Persistent Slowdown
- Central bank leaves benchmark rate at 1.75% for 10th meeting
- Poloz says financial vulnerabilities keeping rates on hold
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Stephen Poloz, one of the few central bankers to resist the global push toward easier monetary policy last year, said the door is open for the Bank of Canada to cut interest rates if the current economic slowdown persists.
The governor, speaking to reporters after a rate decision Wednesday that left the key interest rate unchanged at 1.75%, said growing slack in the economy threatens to dampen inflation pressures. The central bank chose not to cut, however, because policy makers didn’t want to fuel household debt levels that remain a vulnerability to the economy.