Highlights of the Bank of Canada interest rate decision:

  • Repeats exact language on current stimulus being appropriate
  • Key line remains: ‘Over time, as the normalization of these conditions unfolds, a gradual normalization of policy interest rates can also be expected’
  • Housing sector slightly strongter thanexpected
  • Looking through the data, GDP is largely consistent with forecast
  • Output gap to begin to narrow in 2014
  • Global economy continues to expand broadly as expected but its dynamic has moderated
  • Recent data point to less US momentum than expected
  • Europe shows signs of recovery, Japan promising
  • In a number of emerging market economies, financial volatility has increased, adding uncertainty to growth prospects
  • China continues to grow at a solid pace

USD/CAD crumbles 24 pips from 1.0512 to 1.0488