Bank of Canada lowers interest rate to 4.00. Bank of Japan holds rate at 0.5%.

January 22, 2008 - Forex Economic News

The Bank of Canada lowered its interest rate today by a quarter point to 4.00%. This rate cut comes after the Bank also lowered their rate by a quarter point in December. The economy for Canada is seeing growth but at a slower pace, while turmoil in the financial markets and signs of a possible U.S. recession, that could put a large dent into the export growth out of Canada, factored into the rate cut. Read the statement here.

The Bank of Japan announced that it kept its interest rate steady today. The monetary policy committee voted unanimously(9-0) to hold its rate steady at 0.5 percent. This was the 13th consecutive meeting that the BOJ has held rates unchanged and was generally expected on concerns of a slowdown in economic growth. In its monthly report on Recent Economic and Financial Developments, the BOJ stated that the “Japan's economy is expected to continue expanding moderately, although the pace of growth is likely to slow for the time being.” Read the BOJ economic report.

Tags: Interest Rates, Bank of Canada, Bank of Japan------------------- Blog index