Bank of Canada defends itself for staying silent before interest rate hike
OTTAWA — The Bank of Canada is defending itself amid questions about its public silence ahead of an interest-rate increase last week that caught many analysts by surprise.
The response came after BMO chief economist Doug Porter took issue with the central bank’s lack of public remarks in the eight weeks before the rate increase.
In a note to clients, Porter said he had no problem with the rate increase itself because the stronger economy had made a solid case for it.
But he blamed the information vacuum for causing a “great deal of uncertainty” and a “fairly violent market reaction.”