Bank of Canada published governor's speech early due to 'error'

(Reuters) -The Bank of Canada said on Tuesday it had inadvertently published a speech by Governor Tiff Macklem to its website 12 minutes early, calling it a mistake and saying it was reviewing publishing procedures.

The text of the Tuesday speech, in which Macklem said no further interest rate hikes would be needed if inflation falls as expected, was subsequently removed and then published at the correct time, said Paul Badertscher, a bank spokesman.

Traders and analysts closely watch speeches by central bank leaders, and remarks on market-sensitive issues like interest rates are often released to news organizations under embargo.

Canada's 2-year yield was trading near the high of the day at 2.986% in the minutes before Macklem's speech, while the Canadian dollar moved in a tight range around 1.3435 per U.S. dollar, or 74.43 U.S. cents. The loonie then briefly dipped to 1.3450 before rallying as financial markets reacted to comments by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

"I can confirm that due to an error, the speech text was inadvertently published on the Bank's web site 12 minutes early," Badertscher said in a statement.

"The Bank is reviewing its procedures to ensure it maintains its long-held high standards for publishing content in line with committed embargo times," Badertscher added.

(Reporting by Rami Ayyub, Fergal Smith and Kanishka Singh; Editing by Christopher Cushing)