Queen’s University economics professor Thor Koeppl is available to discuss today's Bank of Canada interest rate announcement.

“I am struck by the bearish tone the bank used today. They pushed back the closing of excess capacity by a full year. This is consistent with signalling a pause in hikes for a while, but the Monetary Policy report has to be very clear why this estimate has been revised so sharply – especially in potential output growth,” says Professor Koeppl. “Ultimately, I got a feeling that the bank is spooked by the exchange rate and what a rate hike combined with new quantitative easing in the US would do to it. But this is dangerous for implementing inflation targeting.”

Professor Koeppl is an expert on interest rates and is a member of the C.D. Howe Institute’s Monetary Policy Council.

To arrange an interview, please contact Michael Onesi at 613.533.6000 ext. 77513 or michael.onesi@queensu.ca, or Kristyn Wallace at 613.533.6000 ext. 79173 or kristyn.wallace@queensu.ca at News and Media Services, Queen’s University in Kingston.

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