BoC’s Kozicki: Future rate decisions to rely more on data

Deputy BoC Governor Sharon Kozicki said on Thursday that the Bank of Canada will study the latest economic data to find out direction and accordingly decide whether or not to raise interest rates, adding it would move forcefully if necessary.

At the time of writing. USD/CAD pair trades at 1.3583, namely it’s down by over 0.5%. The Canadian dollar has been tracking oil higher this week and has been boosted by the central bank lifting rates at a record pace of 400 basis points in nine months to 4.25% – a level that was last seen in January 2008.

However, the BoC also signaled this week that its unprecedented tightening campaign was near an end, dropping language that said they would have to rise further.

Key Quotes

“We expect our decisions will be more data-dependent,” Deputy Governor Sharon Kozicki said in a speech in Montreal, adding the bank is still prepared to be “forceful” with rates.

“We are moving from how much to raise interest rates to whether to raise interest rates.”

“With the labor market still tight and businesses still finding it easy to raise their prices, Governing Council agreed that the economy still needs a more sustained moderation of demand,” Kozicki said.