‘Weak oil prices continue to significantly dampen economic perspectives’ – BOC Survey

FXStreet (Mumbai) - The Bank of Canada’s (BOC) quarterly Business Outlook Survey released on Tuesday noted that the biggest concern for the Canadian business sentiment in the second quarter remains the oil-shock impact on several of the country’s regions.

Key Findings:

"The summer Business Outlook Survey points to a diverging outlook across regions. While there are some encouraging signs, owing in part to strengthening US demand, weak oil prices continue to significantly dampen economic perspectives in affected sectors and regions,"

"The balances of opinion on investment and hiring intentions are still weak, since firms tied to the energy sector plan to cut back on their investment and hiring."
"Intentions to increase investment are more prevalent among manufacturing firms and businesses in Central Canada,"

The survey also revealed that the labor gap is less extreme than it was a year ago, but the number of firms "still reporting labor shortages that are restricting their ability to meet demand remains low."

"Inflation expectations continue to be concentrated in the bottom half of the Bank’s inflation control range."