Canada's central bank on Wednesday maintained its key lending rate at 1.75 percent, citing a continued slowing of the global economy and fears over a US-China trade war.
The Bank of Canada said the economy "has been performing well overall," but forecast it will grow by only 1.7 percent this year, or 0.4 percentage points slower than in its October outlook.
The rate hold was expected by economists after several increases over the past year from near record lows.
In its first economic assessment of the year, the central bank said rates "will need to rise over time into a neutral range," or between 2.5 and 3.5 percent, in order to achieve its inflation target.
But the pace of the increases, it added, would depend on developments in Canada's oil sector, housing market and global trade.
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