Okanagan Mortgage Team

Bank of Canada stands pat at 0.25%

Last Updated: Tuesday, January 19, 2010 | 9:12 AM ET Comments2Recommend9

CBC News

Governor of the Bank of Canada Mark Carney held the bank's benchmark lending rate steady at 0.25 per cent on Tuesday. (Richard Lam/Canadian Press)

The Bank of Canada kept its benchmark lending rate at 0.25 per cent Tuesday, reiterating its conditional commitment to hold rates steady until the middle of 2010.

Although it held the overnight lending rate steady, the bank did acknowledge that the recovery appears to be proceeding at a better pace than it was anticipating.

"While the outlook for global growth through 2010 and 2011 is somewhat stronger than the bank had projected in its October monetary policy report, the recovery continues to depend on exceptional monetary and fiscal stimulus, as well as extraordinary measures taken to support financial systems," the bank said in announcing the rate decision.

The Canadian economy grew by a tepid 0.1 per cent in the third quarter, Statistics Canada reported last month. But that "is expected to have picked up further in the fourth quarter," the bank said.

The Bank projects that the economy will grow by 2.9 per cent in 2010 and 3.5 per cent in 2011, after contracting by 2.5 per cent in 2009.

In its statement, the bank repeated its mild concern over the risk that the elevated Canadian dollar presents to the recovery.

"The persistent strength of the Canadian dollar … continues to act as a significant drag on economic activity in Canada," the bank said.

The bank is set to release its next decision on interest rates on March 2.