The Bank of Canada held rates once again at 0.5% on Wednesday, as expected.
The bank now expects real GDP growth of 2.5% in 2017 and just below 2% in 2018 and 2019.
“Global economic growth is strengthening and becoming more broadly-based than the Bank had expected in its January Monetary Policy Report, although there is still considerable uncertainty about the outlook,” the bank said in the accompanying statement.
“In the United States, some temporary factors weighed on economic activity in the first quarter but the drivers of growth remain solid,” it added.
The bank previously held rates at its March meeting, as well. Economists suggested that the bank is still waiting to see what US President Donald Trump, who during his campaign espoused a protectionist agenda and articulated his intention to “renegotiate” the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, will do.
The Canadian dollar is up by 0.3% at 1.3293 per dollar as of 10:03 a.m. ET.