Council Reports

Toronto, January 14 — The C.D. Howe Institute’s Monetary Policy Council (MPC) today recommended that the Bank of Canada hold its target for the overnight interest rate at 0.25 percent at its next announcement on January 19, 2010. (The overnight rate is a very short-term money-market rate that the central bank targets for monetary policy purposes.) The Council further recommended that the Bank keep the target at 0.25 percent at the next announcement in March, in keeping with the Bank’s conditional commitment to do so until mid-year. The MPC’s recommendation for July, the first announcement date after the Bank’s conditional commitment expires, was for a target of 0.75 percent. Looking one year ahead, the Council’s recommendation…

Toronto, December 3 — The C.D. Howe Institute’s Monetary Policy Council today recommended that the Bank of Canada hold its target for the overnight interest rate at 0.25 percent at its next announcement on December 8, 2009. The Council further recommended that the Bank keep the target at 0.25 percent at the Bank’s subsequent announcement in January, in keeping with the Bank of Canada’s conditional commitment to do so into 2010, and raise it thereafter, with the group’s median call being for a target of 1.00 percent in the second half of 2010. The overnight rate is a very short-term money-market rate that the central bank targets for monetary policy purposes.

The MPC is a panel sponsored by the C.D. Howe Institute to…

Toronto, October 15 — The C.D. Howe Institute’s Monetary Policy Council (MPC) today recommended that the Bank of Canada hold its target for the overnight interest rate at 0.25 percent at its next announcement on October 20, 2009. The Council further recommended that the Bank keep the target at 0.25 percent at the Bank’s subsequent announcement in December, in keeping with the Bank of Canada’s conditional commitment to do so into 2010. The MPC looked for a target of 0.50 percent in the next six to twelve months. The overnight rate is a very short-term money-market rate that the central bank targets for monetary policy purposes.

The MPC is a panel sponsored by the C.D. Howe Institute to provide an independent assessment…