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OTTAWA — The damage wrought by the oil-price collapse may have had a “faster” but not necessarily “bigger” effect on the economy than was first thought.

The Bank of Canada acknowledged Wednesday the country’s output was flat-lining for most — if not all — of the first quarter, given that the fallout from the crash in crude appears to have been more “front loaded” than predicted just a few months.

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For the central bank’s policymakers, this will mean staying the course for now at current ultra-low interest rates and assessing the impact of still-low oil costs along the way.

“The key issue for us is whether the oil-price shock is having a bigger effect, or just a faster effect. That is the key thing that we have to assess,” governor Stephen Poloz told reporters following the bank’s decision to keep its trendsetting lending rate on hold.

Borrowing costs have been at 0.75 per cent since January, when Poloz announced a surprise drop from 1% — a level that had been a fixture of the bank’s monetary policy since September 2010.