Jan 22，加拿大央行降息25点至4.00%

陕西闺女 · 发表于 2008-1-22 18:37

Bank of Canada opts for mild rate cut despite Fed
By Louise Egan
Tue Jan 22, 11:19 AM ET

加拿大中央银行宣布，将银行间隔夜拆借利率降低0.25个百分点，降至4%

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada held back in the face of an aggressive interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve on Tuesday, shaving just a quarter-point off its own key rate, but it signaled more cuts to come as U.S. recession worries spiral.

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In a regularly scheduled announcement, the central bank lowered its overnight lending rate to 4 percent from 4.25 percent. It was the bank's second straight quarter-point cut as it seeks to protect the Canadian economy from the severe slowdown or even recession that faces Canada's top trading partner.

The move came shortly after the Fed slashed its federal funds rate by 75 basis points to 3.5 percent. It disappointed a growing number of market players who are calling for a bolder rate cut by Canada to match the Fed.

"The Bank of Canada is clearly stubborn, not wanting to cut by more than 25 basis points and I think the market is quite disappointed," said Eric Lascelles, chief economics and rates strategist at TD Securities.

Ted Carmichael, chief economist at JP Morgan Canada, said the bank "did what was expected a week ago and hasn't reacted whatsoever to developments in financial markets in the past week."

The Bank of Canada, which prepared its rate announcement on Monday, opted not to alter its decision at the last minute in reaction to the Fed move.

While warning that Canada's exports will be hit by the U.S. slowdown, the bank emphasized that high commodity prices will continue to help keep Canada's economy buoyant.

"Despite tighter credit conditions, domestic demand is projected to remain strong," the bank said in its statement.

Retail sales for November rose by a stronger-than-expected 0.7 percent, new data showed on Tuesday.

However, the bank left the door wide open to future rate cuts. "Further monetary stimulus is likely to be required in the near term to keep aggregate supply and demand in balance and to return inflation to target over the medium term."

Given the massive sell off in world stock markets and the quickly-worsening outlook for the United States, Canada's central bank might consider cutting rates in between scheduled announcement dates, some analysts said.

The Toronto stock index plunged 4.75 percent on Monday in its biggest drop in more than seven years, but turned higher on Tuesday.

The bank has only made a surprise rate move once since adopting a fixed schedule for rate announcements in November 2000 -- a 50 basis point cut six days after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.

DODGE'S LAST HURRAH

The rate decision was the last under Governor David Dodge, who hands the baton to Mark Carney on February 1, and some analysts believe the symbolism weighed into the bank's decision.

"This is Dodge's last hurrah and he may have wished to pass things along in a somewhat conservative fashion and not commit on Carney's behalf without Carney really getting to take the reins here," Lascelles said.

Hinting at revised projections scheduled for release on Thursday, the central bank said its 2008 outlook for the U.S. economy is now "significantly weaker" than the 2.1 percent it forecast in October. The Canadian economy will move into a situation of excess supply in the second quarter of this year, it said.

However, it said the economy is still running at above capacity despite slowing in the fourth quarter.

The bank's quarterly business survey showed the portion of firms with some degree of difficulty meeting increased demand shot up to a record high of 60 percent in the fourth quarter, a sign of inflationary pressure.

Inflation projections are now being revised downward, with both total and core consumer inflation now expected to dip below 1.5 percent by mid-2008 before returning to the bank's 2 percent target by the end of 2009.

(Reporting by Louise Egan; Editing by Peter Galloway)

[ 本帖最后由陕西闺女于 2008-1-22 19:19 编辑 ]

西红柿酸 · 发表于 2008-1-22 19:21

陕西闺女 · 发表于 2008-1-23 10:55

加國最新主要隔夜利率降至4厘，美國聯邦基金利率則為3.5厘。加國央行周二並透露，會在3月份進一步減息。加國央行的減息措施是市場普遍預期的做法。但聯儲局的減息幅度則遠較大多數財經人士預期為大，時間亦提早很多。

加國各大銀行亦緊隨央行減息措施，宣布今天(周三)起將最優惠利率降低四分一厘至5.75厘。

年轻的心 · 发表于 2008-1-23 11:14

好事，哈哈！！！

但对刚锁定高利率的贷款客户，可不算是个好消息。。。

候鸟伊人 · 发表于 2008-1-25 05:40

买房有望啊！这下贷款压力减少。可以不用缩衣节食勒紧裤腰带过日子！^_^！！！

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[加国新闻] Jan 22，加拿大央行降息25点至4.00%