The Bank of Canada left its key interest rate unchanged this morning.

The Bank of Canada’s overnight rate was left at 2.5%.

In anticipation of that rate the Canadian dollar opened at US80.95¢, down 0.12 of a cent.

The bank said the economic outlook was “essentially unchanged” from its assessment in January, so it decided to leave the target for the overnight rate unchanged.

It’s the third time the Bank of Canada held the key rate unchanged in as many months, after two quarter-point rate hikes last fall.

The decision to hold the rate unchanged was widely expected.

When the central bank released its monetary policy update in January, it slightly lowered its 2005 growth prediction for Canada’s GDP from 2.9% to 2.8%, blaming the higher Canadian dollar.

On Monday, Statistics Canada released data showing that Canada’s GDP in the final quarter of the year advanced at an annual rate of just 1.7%.

Many economists think the Bank of Canada won’t raise rates until at least the middle of the year.