Bank of Canada Governor Says Monetary Conditions Are About Right
November 21 2019 - 11:19AM
Dow Jones News
By Kim Mackrael
TORONTO -- Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz said he thinks
the central bank has monetary conditions about right given the
current uncertainty over how global headwinds will affect the
domestic economy.
Mr. Poloz told an audience in Toronto on Thursday that global
trade conflicts have hurt Canada's exports and investment. While
the economy is in a good place overall, he said, policy makers are
watching to see whether trade-related weakness spills over into
other parts of the economy, including the housing and service
sectors.
"We think we've got monetary conditions about right given the
situation, " Mr. Poloz said during an on-stage interview.
He said the Bank of Canada's key interest rate is close to that
of the Federal Reserve's after the U.S. central bank lowered rates
in recent months, and the two economies are faring similarly at
this stage. The Bank of Canada has kept its key rate on hold at
1.75% over the past year.
At its most recent interest-rate decision on Oct. 30, Canada's
central bank said it had considered a so-called insurance cut but
ultimately decided to stand pat, saying the overall economy is
resilient and a rate cut would come with additional financial
stability risks in the future.
Mr. Poloz said the central bank wants to boost the trend line of
economic growth, but policy makers will need to keep watching
concerns over financial stability. The central bank said recently
that its top financial stability risks are Canadians' high
household debt levels and imbalances in some housing markets.
Mr. Poloz said he continues to see monetary policy in Canada as
accommodative. "We're still quite stimulative where we are today,"
he said.
Write to Kim Mackrael at kim.mackrael@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 21, 2019 11:04 ET (16:04 GMT)
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