Bank of Canada likely to pause in April – Wells Fargo

On Wednesday, the Bank of Canada (BoC) will have its monetary policy meeting. According to analysts at Wells Fargo, after a busy March, the central bank will introduce no changes at the April meeting. 

Key Quotes: 

“March was a particularly active month for the Bank of Canada (BoC). The central bank cut its policy interest rates a cumulative 150 bps to just 0.25%, while also introducing a raft of other measures. These measures included, among other things, purchases of mortgage bonds and provincial money market paper, a Bankers Acceptance purchase facility, a commercial paper purchase program, and also C$5 billion purchases per week of Canadian government securities. The BoC also launched the Standing Term Liquidity Facility to provide liquidity to the financial system.”

“After such a busy March we expect the BoC to pause in April, and do not expect any changes to the policy rate or other policy measures. The announcement will not be without interest however as the central bank will provide updated economic forecasts in its Monetary Policy Report, which will provide the BoC’s clearest indication yet of the negative impact of the COVID-19 virus on Canada’s economy.”