Bank of Canada Governor Poloz speaking
- Says uncertainty around the threat of increased protectionism is holding back growth
- "Everybody loses eventually" with protectionism, including the country that implements the policies
- First order of business for Canada, Mexico should be to keep working on opening trade elsewhere in the world
- Uncertainty about US trade policy increases risks companies face, which can restrain investment, raise cost of capital
- Research done by Bank of Canada shows increase in US tariffs would lead to lower US output after about 5 years
- Expected rotation in Canadian economy has yet to play out fully, due to continuing shortfall in exports
- Uncertain US trade policy is "another challenge" for Canadian exporters to deal with
- BOC's Poloz calls shelving of trans-pacific partnership "unfortunate"
Headlines via Reuters
. He was speaking at a meeting in Mexico ... insert NAFTA conspiracy theory here ;-)
Noted the BoC has kept interest rates unchanged (while the US Fed has hiked),
- Said core measures of inflation have drifted downward in recent quarters
- And slack in the economy and labour market remains
Poloz didn't have anything more specific on monetary policy in his comments, pretty much related to trade/protectionism
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USD/CAD not doping too much on the headlines, dribbled a few tics lower: