OTTAWA — Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney repeated Wednesday his message that any further rate hikes of the central bank’s key interest rate will have to be carefully considered given his outlook for the economy.
Carney’s comments to the Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce echoed those he made a day earlier to a House of Commons committee.
“At this time of transition in the global recovery, with a weaker U.S. outlook, constraints beginning to moderate growth in emerging-market economies, and domestic considerations that are expected to slow consumption and housing activity in Canada, any further reduction in monetary policy stimulus would need to be carefully considered,” the central bank governor said in prepared remarks.
In the central bank’s latest report, it forecast that the economic recovery in Canada would be more gradual than expected, reflecting a more gradual global recovery overall.
The Bank of Canada maintained its benchmark interest rate at one per cent in the face of a weakening economy last week.
The bank had increased short-term interest rates three consecutive occasions since June, but said that was enough as it scaled back growth projections for the economy.