The voices predicting a further Bank of Canada rate cut have become a chorus, with another bank stating it believes the central bank still has additional basis points to slash.
The voices predicting a further Bank of Canada rate cut have become a chorus, with another bank stating it believes the central bank still has additional basis points to slash.
HSBC Bank PLC has predicted the BoC will lower its benchmark to 0.5 in March and again in Q2 to a mere 0.25 per cent, according to Michael Babad of the Globe and Mail.
Of course, two of Canada’s major banks have already made their own rate cut predictions for the coming months.
“The Bank of Canada assumed upcoming weakness in the economy when it cut rates last week. Although its focus is on 2015, with growth in Q4 now set to come under its 2.5 per cent forecast, the BoC has all the more reason to cut again in March,” CIBC states in its Economic Flash report published Friday. “The downdraft from oil will indeed be significant, but overall output’s response to cheaper fuel, lower rates, and a significantly weaker Canadian dollar means that our full-year growth target for 2015 is still around the economy’s potential.”
That report followed on the heels of a similar prediction made by TD Bank, who also predicts a further rate cut to come from the Bank of Canada at its next rate announcement.
“The Bank of Canada unexpectedly cut the overnight rate by 25 basis points in mid-January, on the negative impact of lower oil prices on inflation and the real economy. At that time, it also signaled that it saw most of the risks to inflation to be tilted to the downside,” TD’s economic update, published in late January states. “Given our weaker oil price, inflation, and output forecast relative to the Bank, it therefore holds that we expect some of those downside risks to be realized.
“As such, we forecast that the Bank of Canada will cut the overnight rate by an additional 25 basis points at its next fixed announcement date in March.”
HSBC Bank PLC has predicted the BoC will lower its benchmark to 0.5 in March and again in Q2 to a mere 0.25 per cent, according to Michael Babad of the Globe and Mail.
Of course, two of Canada’s major banks have already made their own rate cut predictions for the coming months.
“The Bank of Canada assumed upcoming weakness in the economy when it cut rates last week. Although its focus is on 2015, with growth in Q4 now set to come under its 2.5 per cent forecast, the BoC has all the more reason to cut again in March,” CIBC states in its Economic Flash report published Friday. “The downdraft from oil will indeed be significant, but overall output’s response to cheaper fuel, lower rates, and a significantly weaker Canadian dollar means that our full-year growth target for 2015 is still around the economy’s potential.”
That report followed on the heels of a similar prediction made by TD Bank, who also predicts a further rate cut to come from the Bank of Canada at its next rate announcement.
“The Bank of Canada unexpectedly cut the overnight rate by 25 basis points in mid-January, on the negative impact of lower oil prices on inflation and the real economy. At that time, it also signaled that it saw most of the risks to inflation to be tilted to the downside,” TD’s economic update, published in late January states. “Given our weaker oil price, inflation, and output forecast relative to the Bank, it therefore holds that we expect some of those downside risks to be realized.
“As such, we forecast that the Bank of Canada will cut the overnight rate by an additional 25 basis points at its next fixed announcement date in March.”
