C.D. Howe Institute's Monetary Policy Council Urges Bank of Canada to Hold Overnight Rate at 1.00 Percent

TORONTO, May 31, 2012 /CNW/ - The C.D. Howe Institute's Monetary Policy Council (MPC) today recommended that the Bank of Canada maintain its target for the overnight rate, the very short-term interest rate the Bank targets for monetary policy purposes, at 1.00 percent at its next announcement on June 5, 2012. The MPC further recommended that the Bank hold the overnight rate target at 1.00 through the end of the year, and called for a target of 1.25 percent by June 2013.

The MPC is a panel sponsored by the C.D. Howe Institute to provide an independent assessment of the monetary stance most appropriate for the Bank of Canada as it seeks to achieve its 2 percent inflation target. William Robson, the Institute's President and CEO, chairs the Council.

For the MPC Report go to: www.cdhowe.org

Kristine Gray - phone: [phone]; e-mail: [email protected].