BOC Poloz To Speak at Export-Import Bank in Washington

April 17, 2015 Share Print 0

Bank of Canada (BoC) Governor Stephen Poloz will take part in a panel discussion at the Export-Import Bank of the United States in Washington, D.C., on April 20.

Poloz has been a supporter of the exporting sector and has used rhetoric and monetary policy to boost the competitiveness of the Canadian economy. The fall in energy prices is forcing the country to diversify its economy in a bid to regain its manufacturing strength. A weaker currency will help toward reducing the country’s dependency on energy exports, but the latest forecast from the BoC might be too optimistic on the timetable of the recovery.

The setting at the Export-Import Bank panel will help Poloz push Canada’s export agenda. The market’s reaction to the BoC’s latest quarterly forecasts wasn’t nearly as optimistic. What the BoC views as increasing economic strength can quickly fizzle into a reversal if Canada’s growth misses such lofty expectations.

The central bank held its benchmark interest rate at 0.75%, allowing plenty of room to act if needed. On that score, market participants widely expect both Australia and Canada to slash their respective interest rates in the not-too-distant future.

The Reserve Bank of Australia, despite an encouraging employment report, is expected to cut rates at its next meeting in early May. The BoC rate cut will be more data dependent as the USD/CAD is currently higher after soft data out of the U.S., and a recovery of oil prices, gave the loonie a lift.

This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds.

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Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse

Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.