By James Langton

(December 19 – 11:30 ET) – Following its new policy of fixed-date interest rate announcements and greater policy transparency, the Bank of Canada is publishing visual aids to reinforce its policy view.

Today the central bank posted on its Web site a series of charts reflecting the economic, financial, and monetary conditions as of December 4, the day before the last Bank Rate announcement. The charts cover everything from Brady Bond spreads and Consumer Price Indices from around the world to international stock markets.

The bank says these charts will be updated four times a year. They will be posted to the Web site two weeks after Bank Rate announcement dates that are not followed by the Monetary Policy Report or the Monetary Policy Report Update, in other words, late March, mid-June, mid-September, and mid-December.