Bank of Canada holds interest rates: Read the official statement

financialpost.com:

The Bank of Canada held interest rates on Dec. 6, keeping its key policy rate at five per cent.

Here’s the Bank of Canada’s official statement for its rate decision:

The Bank of Canada today held its target for the overnight rate at five per cent, with the bank rate at 5.25 per cent and the deposit rate at five per cent. The bank is continuing its policy of quantitative tightening.

The global economy continues to slow and inflation has eased further. In the United States, growth has been stronger than expected, led by robust consumer spending, but is likely to weaken in the months ahead as past policy rate increases work their way through the economy. Growth in the euro area has weakened and, combined with lower energy prices, this has reduced inflationary pressures. Oil prices are about $10-per-barrel lower than was assumed in the October Monetary Policy Report (MPR). Financial conditions have also eased, with long-term interest rates unwinding some of the sharp increases seen earlier in the autumn. The U.S. dollar has weakened against most currencies, including Canada’s.

In Canada, economic growth stalled through the middle quarters of 2023. Real GDP contracted at a rate of 1.1 per cent in the third quarter, following growth of 1.4 per cent in the second quarter. Higher interest rates are clearly restraining spending: consumption growth in the last two quarters was close to zero, and business investment has been volatile but essentially flat over the past year. Exports and inventory adjustment subtracted from GDP growth in the third quarter, while government spending and new home construction provided a boost. The labour market continues to ease: job creation has been slower than labour force growth, job vacancies have