Bank of Canada head sees no need now for more 'insurance': WSJ

TORONTO (Reuters) - Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz, who has described a shock January interest rate cut as "insurance", said in an interview he didn't see the need for more insurance now, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website on Sunday. "We've got the right monetary policy," Poloz told the newspaper. "It gets us home." He also said the Bank of Canada would only consider further rate cuts if the economy underperformed the central bank’s outlook. Poloz made similar comments on Friday to journalists on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington. The Bank of Canada held interest rates steady on Wednesday and suggested that no further cuts are imminent due to the bank's expectation that the economy will rebound later this year from the first quarter's zero growth. Poloz also said in the Wall Street Journal interview that he thought the trajectory of U.S. growth was quite good after the first quarter was hit by bad weather and a port strike. He added that Canadian companies were seeing increased demand from the United States for capital equipment. "Machinery equipment, building materials, they have really been moving for us," he said. "Companies can see they're getting the orders. The phones are ringing." (Reporting by Jeffrey Hodgson; Editing by Richard Pullin)