The Bank of Canada left its interest rates unchanged during the Wednesday’s policy meeting. The decision made the Canadian dollar firmer, though it was unable to outperform its US rival.
As was expected, the BoC left its key overnight rate at 0.5%, keeping other interest rates without change as well. The central bank mentioned in its statement the recent pickup of prices for crude oil and other commodities:
Prices of oil and other commodities are off their earlier lows and slightly above levels assumed by the Bank in January, but remain well below historical averages.
Nevertheless, the bank downgraded its forecast for global growth in 2017. At the same time, the outlook for Canada’s economy in 2016 improved.
Overall, the statement made a positive impact on Canada’s currency, allowing it to log gains, albeit not big ones. Yet the US dollar was too strong today, leading to a drop of the loonie against the greenback.
USD/CAD ticked up from 1.2762 to 1.2787 as of 16:10 GMT today, though it back off from the daily high of 1.2821. Meanwhile, EUR/CAD dropped from 1.4528 to 1.4423. CAD/JPY advanced from 85.03 to 85.38.
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