It is expected that the Bank of Canada will be on the sidelines once again Wednesday morning when it issues its latest policy decision, a move that could see the Canadian dollar turn from its recent run-up and head lower going into the new year.
Putting the Bank in neutral will be two factors, the expected slowdown in the housing market caused by the new restrictive mortgage rules and the continued uncertainty about NAFTA.
On the positive side, employment gains are given as the only reason we may see movement from the Bank, however out of 10 economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal, six saw no rate movement until April at the earliest.
But, with employment growth so strong, averaging 33,000 new jobs a month for the last year, National Bank’s Stefane Marion predicted the Bank would raise rates in January.