OTTAWA -- The Bank of Canada on Thursday said it was broadening its programs aimed at ensuring there is enough cash in the country's financial system, in the latest indication of deteriorating conditions in Canada stemming from the coronavirus pandemic and the sharp pullback in crude-oil prices.
Analysts said the move represents the most concerted one by Canada's central bank to restore confidence in day-to-day financial operations since the 2008-09 credit crunch. It emerged after another tumultuous session on global financial markets, including one of the deepest one-day declines -- down more than 12% -- in decades on Canada's benchmark stock-market index.
Earlier Thursday, the Federal Re-serve said it would inject more than $1.5 trillion of temporary liquidity into markets in an effort to prevent a sharper economic contraction.
Just a day earlier, Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau told reporters he was in daily conversation with senior bank executives, and indicated the financial system was in good shape and showing few signs of strain.
BMO Capital Markets economist Michael Gregory said Thursday's moves by the U.S. and Canadian central banks "indicate to me that central banks realize that this thing is unraveling rather quickly."
Canada's central bank said Thursday it would broaden its bond-buyback program under which it adds liquidity to ensure lending, and increase the frequency under which it would carry the transactions out. "This is intended to add market liquidity and support [prices]," the bank said.
The Bank of Canada said that until further notice, buybacks would extend across all benchmark maturities and be at least weekly. The first such buyback, of roughly 500 million Canadian dollars ($362 million), will be held on Monday and target 30-year government bonds.
Further, the central bank said it would add new term-repo operations with terms of six and 12 months, and those would unfold on a biweekly basis starting on Tuesday. At present, the Bank of Canada conducts term repos -- or repurchase agreements that act as a form of short-term lending to bond dealers -- on a one- and three-month basis.
Next week's six- and 12-month repo operations will aim to add C$7 billion to money markets. The last time the central bank conducted 12-month term repos was around the time of the financial crisis.
The Bank of Canada said last week, when it cut its main interest rate by a half-percentage point, that it stood ready to inject additional liquidity to financial markets, given recent market turmoil.
The decision Thursday to act on that pledge "speaks to concerns over deteriorating financial conditions and eroding liquidity," said Warren Lovely, fixed-income strategist at National Bank Financial. "The speed of the deterioration has been alarming."
Mr. Gregory said he wouldn't be surprised if the Bank of Canada issues an emergency rate cut before its next scheduled rate announcement on April 15.
Investors were already pricing in the probability of an intermeeting cut, based on trading in overnight-index swaps. BMO and other forecasting firms now expect the Bank of Canada to reduce its main interest rate down close to zero in the coming months.
The Canadian government is scheduled to unveil a 2020 budget plan on March 30 that is now expected to include a host of fiscal measures to offset any further economic damage.
Oxford Economics, a forecasting firm, said Thursday that Canada is already in a recession, which is generally defined as two consecutive quarters of economic contraction. It expects Canadian gross domestic product to shrink 0.3% annualized in the first quarter, and 1.4% in the second quarter.
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https://www.marketwatch.com/story/bank- ... latestnewsCanada what a fucking joke that cuntry is. No manufacturing left and tar sand going down the shitter. It is OK Canada has a bullet proof economical strategy. Bringing 330 000 immigrant per year + 500 000 to 1 000 0000 per year foreign student. Canaduuuh got this under control. Same startegy as Australia.
I said that many times that mass migration as a way to growth the economy
will eventually kill Canada.