Christina Lake SAGD project. Image: Cenovus Cheap Alberta oil is giving economists second thoughts about the next Bank of Canada rate increase. Considered a sure thing only a couple of weeks ago, doubts are beginning to emerge about whether the central bank will hike in January without a rebound in slumping prices for Canadian heavy crude. In reports over the past 24 hours, Toronto-Dominion Bank and Bank of Montreal have put asterisks on their calls for a move, while swaps trading suggests investors are also paring bets. Should weakness persist, “ we would expect the Bank of Canada to hold off on raising its policy interest rate until there is further stabilization in oil prices, ” Toronto-Dominion Bank economists Omar Abdelrahman and Brian DePratto wrote in a research note Friday. Western Canada Select crude — the main blend sold by the nation ’ s oilsands — closed at $13.46 a barrel on Nov. 15, the lowest in Bloomberg data stretching back to 2008. Its discount to U.S. benchmark crude exploded to as much as $52.40 a barrel last month, also a record. All but one of 14 economists recently surveyed by Bloomberg News expect a rate increase in the […]
