BoC's Wilkins: Canadian and US economies are converging, not diverging

Bank of Canada's Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn A. Wilkins is now delivering the opening remarks on the monetary policy outlook following the Bank of Canada's decision to leave the policy unchanged at 1.75%. Below are some key takeaways, per Reuters.

"Canadian and the U.S. economies are converging, not diverging."

"The U.S is slowing to a more sustainable pace while Canada is moving back up to its trend growth; by the second half growth should be similar in both economies."

"Trade conflicts and uncertainty are projected to cut the level of Canadian GDP by as much as 2% by end-2021."

"Expects transportation constraints for crude oil will ease gradually, sees overall investment in oil and gas sector to contract further in 2019."

The USD/CAD pair, which staged a strong rebound from 1.3070 area after the BoC published its policy statement earlier in the session, was last seen trading at 1.3120, where it was virtually unchanged on the day.