The Bank of Canada (BoC) left the overnight interest rate unchanged for the seventh consecutive meeting at 1.0 per cent this morning, a position it has been stuck in since September of last year.

While no one expected the BoC to change rates this morning, the market was still glued to the wires searching for clues about what’s in store for the latter half of 2010.

And it wasn’t disappointed: The bank tweaked its statement to say “some of the considerable monetary policy stimulus currently in place (i.e. really low interest rates) will be withdrawn.” In prior press releases the statement read that stimulus would be “eventually withdrawn”.

The BoC remains in a tough position, with the domestic economy ready for higher rates but considerable risk still emanating from places like the U.S. and Europe. The last thing the BoC wants to do is start raising rates and then have some sort of disorderly default in Europe or a lock up in government spending in the U.S., slowing the global economy and disrupting financial markets.

Currently, there is more uncertainty about where rates are going than has been present for some time. The market remains somewhat divided, but this morning’s press releases definitely seemed to be preparing Canadians for a rate hike in the fall. Certainly, nothing is concrete at this point but if the aforementioned global risks start to get resolved, look for rates to start moving higher at either the September 7th or October 25th meetings.