Bay Street economists expect the Bank of Canada to leave interest rates unchanged Tuesday, and many say no rate cuts are likely for several months.

The bank’s key overnight rate has been at 4.25 % since May 24, 2006, when it bumped up the rate by a quarter of a percentage point.

Economists point out that the U.S. economy has been stubbornly resilient in the face of a weak housing market, and Canadian employment figures show that the economy is continuing to produce a surprisingly healthy number of new jobs.

“Don’t expect the statement to rock the boat,” predicts Marc Lévesque, TD Securities chief economics strategist at TD Securities.

“The Bank will not be in any hurry to signal a rate cut — we continue to expect the bank to remain on the sidelines until April,” he added.

CIBC World Markets economists also expect the central bank to refrain from cutting rates until the second quarter of 2007.

The C.D. Howe Institute’s Monetary Policy Council is unanimously urging the Bank of Canada to make no changes in the bank’s key overnight rate on Tuesday or at the next meeting in March.

“Among the points emphasized in the discussion were the likelihood that weakness in U.S. domestic demand was bottoming out, that growth overseas looks solid and that the Canadian economy was regaining momentum after weakness late in 2006,” an institute statement said.

The bank’s interest rate announcement will be made at 9:00 ET Tuesday.