Bank of Canada stands apart as it raises rates

Jeremy Torobin
Ottawa — From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
Published on Tuesday, Jul. 20, 2010 9:05AM EDT
Last updated on Tuesday, Jul. 20, 2010 7:55PM EDT

.Mark Carney has now done twice what no other Group of Seven central banker appears even close to doing once – he raised interest rates for the second month in a row – but global developments could slow his hand.

Tuesday’s move, which brought the Bank of Canada’s benchmark overnight rate to a still-low 0.75 per cent, reflects Canada’s unique position as a rich country that has recovered almost all of the jobs lost during the recession, where a post-crisis housing boom has already come and gone, and where record overseas demand for safe government bonds is poised to allow Ottawa and the provinces fund a few more years of deficit spending without being crippled by interest payments.
But the Bank of Canada Governor’s window for taking back some of the super-low borrowing costs, both to ensure that inflationary pressures don’t build and to persuade consumers and businesses that they should start paying off debts now before rates go higher, may be closing sooner than expected.
Even as it raised its key rate by one-quarter of a percentage point, the central bank trimmed its forecast for Canada’s economic growth this year and next, as austerity measures in Europe and a fizzling rebound in the United States make for a slower global recovery and a “more gradual” bounce-back at home. Future moves will “be weighed carefully” against developments around the world, policy makers reiterated in the statement accompanying the rate hike, and, in turn, on what impact those may have on Canada’s exports.