BOC’s Macklem: The central bank is right to be in monitoring mode – Scotiabank

Analysts at Scotiabank offer a sneak peek at what the Bank of Canada (BOC) Governor Tiff Macklem will speak at his scheduled speech titled “Labour market impacts of COVID and sectoral implications.”

His speech is due on the cards at 1730 GMT later on Tuesday.

Key quotes

“There are still 850,000 fewer employed people than there were last February before the pandemic and so, for now, the BOC is right to be in monitoring mode.” 

“Pushing back on curve steepening, however, may prove unwise given it's a pretty haughty bet by a modest central bank to lean against powerful forces in global bond markets.” 

“The ways in which it may be attempting to do so include communications tactics, like emphasizing the currency (whatsoever the merit!) and present slack considerations, plus altering purchase programs such as raising provincial bond buying (again, whatever the merit).“