Wednesday's GDP data will be key for Bank of Canada rate decision: Strategist
BNN Bloomberg
With gross domestic product (GDP) figures for the Canadian economy set to be released this week, one strategist said the data could be crucial for the Bank of Canada as it decides whether to raise interest rates or not.
Benjamin Reitzes, a managing director of Canadian rates and macro strategist at BMO Capital Markets, said in a report released last week that the central bank’s June 7 policy rate decision could hinge on the GDP report.
A key reason, according to Reitzes, is that May employment data is not scheduled to be released until after the central bank’s rate decision. As a result, he said there will be “notably more data in hand, with another two job reports and the CPI [consumer price index],” for the following interest rate announcement on July 12.
Statistics Canada is scheduled to release GDP data for the first quarter of 2023 on Wednesday.
