Bank of Canada Market News

The Bank of Canada targets 2% inflation by adjusting benchmark overnight interest rates and was the first central bank to have such a target among G7 nations. Governors serve seven-year terms and often face other issues such as a Canadian dollar influenced by prices for exported commodities and an economic cycle that can diverge from the U.S., the country's dominant trading partner. Policy is set at eight fixed announcement dates a year, four of them coming with a major economic forecast paper. Based in Ottawa, the Bank's headquarters opened in 1935 and now has its own enclosed garden to get staff through long winters. The BOC is also responsible for producing bank notes, overseeing major payment systems, and carrying out government bond auctions, while regulation of commercial banks is left to a separate agency.