Canadian dealers push back rate hike forecasts

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's primary dealers have once again pushed back expectations for the timing of the next Bank of Canada interest rate hike, as persistent global economic headwinds cool domestic growth.

In a Reuters poll on Friday, seven of Canada's 12 primary dealers, the institutions that deal directly with the Bank of Canada as it carries out monetary policy, predicted the central bank will resume hiking next year.

The remainder see the bank taking a cue from the U.S. Federal Reserve, keeping rates on hold until 2013.

Four of the primary dealers changed their targets since a similar poll on October 7, in line with the "lower for longer" theme that has dominated recent thinking.

The poll was conducted after a shock Canadian jobs report for October that showed the economy unexpectedly lost almost all the jobs gained in September, confirming expectations the economy is slowing.

The dealers also had time to digest Governor Mark Carney's warnings of a likely recession in Europe and continued weakness in the United States after he slashed the central bank's growth forecasts for the fourth quarter last week.

Despite the gloomier predictions, none of the dealers think the central bank's next move will be a rate cut, compared with traders who priced in higher odds of an easing next year after seeing the data.