OTTAWA - The Bank of Canada has pointedly dropped its warning about the potential for higher interest rates, triggering a sell-off in Canadian dollars that pushed the loonie almost one cent lower Wednesday and raised speculation that rates could actually fall further.

In a more predictable move, the bank also lowered the anticipated growth path for the economy, shaving the projected pace of expansion for this year as well as in 2014 and 2015.

The central bank, by jettisoning the now familiar tightening bias that it has used since April 2012 to caution consumers about over-borrowing, suggests that it is just as likely to cut the one per cent overnight rate as to raise it in future.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/canadian-press-newsalert-bank-canada-lowers-2013-forecast-140453698.html