Article Continued BelowDespite the cut to its expectations for growth in the second quarter, the Bank of Canada kept its key interest rate at 0.5 per cent. In its April monetary policy report, the bank had predicted growth at an annual rate of 1 per cent for the second quarter. The downgrade of the second quarter follows similar moves by economists at some of Canada’s big banks. “While we don’t know the bank’s updated tracking excluding the wildfires, it’s likely that the bank is tracking a contraction for the second quarter,” TD Bank senior economist Leslie Preston said. The Bank of Canada is expected to update its full outlook for the economy and inflation in its next monetary policy report on July 13, when it also makes its next rate announcement.

Source: thestar May 25, 2016 08:45 UTC