Canada keeps benchmark interest rates unchanged

After the interest rate meeting, the Bank of Canada kept the target interest rate unchanged at 0.25% and maintained the weekly asset purchase size at least 4 billion Canadian dollars. The central bank statement stated that under the epidemic and corresponding restrictive measures, local economic activities are more dynamic than expected, and it is expected that the economy will experience positive growth in the first quarter, rather than the contraction previously predicted. However, the new coronavirus variant poses the greatest risk to future economic activities. In addition, it is expected that in the coming months, local inflation may temporarily rise to the top of the target range of 1-3%, which mainly reflects short-term factors such as the low price base effect last year and rising gasoline prices.