Businesses feeling the most optimistic since 2011, per BoC

The Bank of Canada's quarterly business outlook survey revealed a positive outlook from the business sectors, supported by maintained robust sales and strong demand, both foreign and domestic, according to CBC News.

The central bank said that the business outlook survey indicator surged to its highest peak since the second quarter of 2011 as results were beyond their “historical” averages.

“The survey of about 100 firms found the balance of opinion on future sales growth was marginally positive as domestically oriented firms, including those tied to housing in some regions, expected a moderation in growth,” CBC reported.

Firms that were optimistic in the survey tended to take advantage of foreign or local demand, growing prices or new products or initiatives to increase market hold.

"Firms serving foreign customers [in particular] reported that orders have improved compared with 12 months ago, and they expect export sales to increase at a greater rate over the next year.”

One downside was the anticipated difficulty on the part of some firms to match demand in case it reaches levels not seen in over a decade – or before the 2008-09 recession. One manifestation of difficulty in this area are labor shortages, mostly being felt in British Columbia at present.

The Bank of Canada noted that most of the interviews with firms for the survey were done before the U.S. pronouncement on tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada. Recently, increasing trade tensions between Canada and the U.S. have raised concerns for the economy.

 

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