Economics
Bank of Canada Curbs Buying Spree, Sees Covid Impact Peaking
- Benchmark borrowing costs unchanged at lower bound of 0.25%
- Central bank pares back estimates for economic contractions
Tiff Macklem listens during an Ottawa news conference announcing his appointment as governor of the Bank of Canada on May 1.
Photographer: David Kawai/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The Bank of Canada said the country’s economy appears to have avoided the worst case scenario, prompting policy makers to wind down some market operations and pare back estimates of the downturn.
In a decision Wednesday that left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.25%, as widely expected, policy makers took a more optimistic tone on the outlook, adjusting their forecasts for second quarter gross domestic product to a less severe contraction. They also said they’re focus is shifting toward supporting the economy rather than financial market functioning, suggesting no new programs are in the works.