The Bank of Canada cut the interest rate last week in an apparent bid to deal with the economic shock created by the threat of coronavirus.

The Bank reduced the national interest rate by 0.50% to 1.25% on the 4th March, following the cut by the US Federal Reserve the day before.

The threat of coronavirus has caused business activity to fall sharply in some regions and the currency to depreciate, while the Bank warned that business and consumer confidence could fall further.