The BOC will announce its April monetary policy decision at 1400 GMT
No change is expected in the rate decision but the key will be to watch out for the details in the statement and of course, Poloz's press conference. Markets appear to be angling for a slight dovish bias ahead of the meeting decision but it would not be surprising to see the BOC stick it out for yet another month with the current forward guidance i.e. the final paragraph of the policy statement:
Governing Council judges that the outlook continues to warrant a policy interest rate that is below its neutral range. Given the mixed picture that the data present, it will take time to gauge the persistence of below-potential growth and the implications for the inflation outlook. With increased uncertainty about the timing of future rate increases, Governing Council will be watching closely developments in household spending, oil markets, and global trade policy.
Given the continued rise in oil prices, they have time to still evaluate and tread with caution for the time being. It would be a bit premature to abandon their hiking bias (bolded above) but then again, we've had bigger surprises in the past so that can't be ruled out completely.
I don't see how Poloz can be dovish here unless the hiking bias is removed from the guidance so keep your eyes on that as that will set the tone for how the loonie will react thereafter. Here's a host of other previews to wrap your head around before the decision later:
