Bank of Canada Acknowledges Canada May be Slipping Into Recession

OTTAWA – Terrorist attacks on the United States have thrown the Canadian economy into uncertainty, prompting Canada's central bank to acknowledge Friday a recession could be coming.

Bank of Canada governor David Dodge said he expected no growth in the July-September quarter, with a similar outlook for the final three months of the year.

A recession "is certainly possible," Dodge said, citing disruptions in air travel and border traffic. "That sort of thing wears off quickly, but while it's happening, it has quite a significant impact."

The Conference Board of Canada, an economics think tank, offered a forecast of zero growth for the rest of the year in a report released Friday.

Dodge indicated he was ready to cut interest rates further if the economy required it. Canada generally follows the U.S. Federal Reserve on interest-rate cuts, reflecting the close economic links between the North American neighbors who share the world's biggest trade relationship — worth more than $1 billion a day.