AGL 38.20 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.13%)
AIRLINK 129.30 Increased By ▲ 4.23 (3.38%)
BOP 7.85 Increased By ▲ 1.00 (14.6%)
CNERGY 4.66 Increased By ▲ 0.21 (4.72%)
DCL 8.35 Increased By ▲ 0.44 (5.56%)
DFML 38.86 Increased By ▲ 1.52 (4.07%)
DGKC 82.20 Increased By ▲ 4.43 (5.7%)
FCCL 33.64 Increased By ▲ 3.06 (10.01%)
FFBL 75.75 Increased By ▲ 6.89 (10.01%)
FFL 12.83 Increased By ▲ 0.97 (8.18%)
HUBC 110.72 Increased By ▲ 6.22 (5.95%)
HUMNL 14.03 Increased By ▲ 0.54 (4%)
KEL 5.22 Increased By ▲ 0.57 (12.26%)
KOSM 7.69 Increased By ▲ 0.52 (7.25%)
MLCF 40.08 Increased By ▲ 3.64 (9.99%)
NBP 72.51 Increased By ▲ 6.59 (10%)
OGDC 189.18 Increased By ▲ 9.65 (5.38%)
PAEL 25.74 Increased By ▲ 1.31 (5.36%)
PIBTL 7.38 Increased By ▲ 0.23 (3.22%)
PPL 153.45 Increased By ▲ 9.75 (6.78%)
PRL 25.52 Increased By ▲ 1.20 (4.93%)
PTC 17.92 Increased By ▲ 1.52 (9.27%)
SEARL 82.50 Increased By ▲ 3.93 (5%)
TELE 7.63 Increased By ▲ 0.41 (5.68%)
TOMCL 32.50 Increased By ▲ 0.53 (1.66%)
TPLP 8.48 Increased By ▲ 0.35 (4.31%)
TREET 16.74 Increased By ▲ 0.61 (3.78%)
TRG 56.01 Increased By ▲ 1.35 (2.47%)
UNITY 28.85 Increased By ▲ 1.35 (4.91%)
WTL 1.34 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (3.88%)
BR100 10,684 Increased By 595 (5.9%)
BR30 31,445 Increased By 1935.9 (6.56%)
KSE100 99,269 Increased By 4695.1 (4.96%)
KSE30 31,032 Increased By 1587.6 (5.39%)

Canada's central bank on Wednesday maintained its key lending rate at one percent, saying it expects an uptick in the economy to moderate as the year comes to an end. Job creation, consumer spending and business investment have been strong in 2017, but there is "considerable uncertainty" in geopolitics and trade policies that could negatively impact growth, it said.
Canada, the United States and Mexico's renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement appears to be headed toward a deadlock. Meanwhile, the expected launch of Canada-China formal free trade talks during Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's visit to China this week - in a bid to diversify Canada's export markets - has so far failed to materialize.
"While higher interest rates will likely be required over time," said Bank of Canada said, "(its) governing council will continue to be cautious, guided by incoming data in assessing the economy's sensitivity to interest rates, the evolution of economic capacity, and the dynamics of both wage growth and inflation." The central bank noted stronger than expected third quarter results in the United States - Canada's largest trading partner by far - but forecast a pullback in the US economy "in the coming months."
Following "exceptionally strong growth" earlier in 2017, Canadian exports declined "by more than was expected" from July to September, the bank said. Exports are expected to bounce back as foreign demand strengthens, it added.
Home prices, meanwhile, have continued to moderate as the impact of government policies to try to curb skyrocketing real estate costs take effect. Inflation, however, has been slightly higher than anticipated and will continue to be buoyed by gasoline prices in the short term, the bank concluded. And despite rising employment, the bank expects continued slack in the labour market.

Comments

Comments are closed.