Bank of Canada Rate Announcement Sept 6th, 2017

Luisa Hough • September 6, 2017

The following is the Bank of Canada rate announcement released this morning, if you have any questions about what this rate increase means for you and your mortgage, please don’t hesitate to contact me anytime. If you’re a fixed rate mortgage holder, this change doesn’t impact you, however if you are a variable rate mortgage holder, you can expect to see an increase in bank prime, most likely by a 1/4 per cent. 

The Bank of Canada is raising its target for the overnight rate to 1 per cent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 1 1/4 per cent and the deposit rate is 3/4 per cent.

Recent economic data have been stronger than expected, supporting the Bank’s view that growth in Canada is becoming more broadly-based and self-sustaining. Consumer spending remains robust, underpinned by continued solid employment and income growth.  There has also been more widespread strength in business investment and in exports. Meanwhile, the housing sector appears to be cooling in some markets in response to recent changes in tax and housing finance policies. The Bank continues to expect a moderation in the pace of economic growth in the second half of 2017, for the reasons described in the July  Monetary Policy Report  (MPR), but the level of GDP is now higher than the Bank had expected.

The global economic expansion is becoming more synchronous, as anticipated in July, with stronger-than-expected indicators of growth, including higher industrial commodity prices. However, significant geopolitical risks and uncertainties around international trade and fiscal policies remain, leading to a weaker US dollar against many major currencies. In this context, the Canadian dollar has appreciated, also reflecting the relative strength of Canada’s economy.

While inflation remains below the 2 per cent target, it has evolved largely as expected in July. There has been a slight increase in both total CPI and the Bank’s core measures of inflation, consistent with the dissipating negative impact of temporary price shocks and the absorption of economic slack. Nonetheless, there remains some excess capacity in Canada’s labour market, and wage and price pressures are still more subdued than historical relationships would suggest, as observed in some other advanced economies.

Given the stronger-than-expected economic performance, Governing Council judges that today’s removal of some of the considerable monetary policy stimulus in place is warranted. Future monetary policy decisions are not predetermined and will be guided by incoming economic data and financial market developments as they inform the outlook for inflation. Particular focus will be given to the evolution of the economy’s potential, and to labour market conditions. Furthermore, given elevated household indebtedness, close attention will be paid to the sensitivity of the economy to higher interest rates.

Here are the announcements dates set out for the remainder of 2017 and the complete schedule for 2018.

  • October 25th 2017 *
  • December 6th 2017
  • January 17th 2018*
  • March 7th 2018
  • April 18th 2018*
  • May 30th 2018
  • July 11th 2018*
  • September 5th 2018
  • October 24th 2018*
  • December 5th 2018

*Monetary Policy Report  published

All rate  announcements  will be made at  10:00 (ET) , and the  Monetary Policy Report  will continue to be published concurrently with the January, April, July and October rate  announcements.

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