Since the April Monetary Policy Report, three developments have led the Bank of Canada to make small modifications to its outlook for economic growth and inflation in Canada.
Let me start with our outlook for inflation. Higher-than-expected world oil prices mean that total CPI inflation is likely to remain above 2 per cent through the rest of this year, before falling slightly below core inflation in the second half of 2005.
The Bank of Canada today announced that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 2 per cent. The operating band for the overnight rate is unchanged, and the Bank Rate remains at 2 1/4 per cent.
Businesses are somewhat more optimistic about the outlook than they were in the spring, reflecting increased confidence about the robustness of the global economic recovery.
The Bank of Canada today released its 2005 schedule of eight dates for announcing decisions on its key policy interest rate, and confirmed the announcement dates for the remainder of this year.
The theme of this event is "Policy Coordination in an Integrated Global Economy." It seems as if the idea of policy coordination is making a comeback these days.