The Business Outlook Survey indicator moved up again, signalling further improvement in business sentiment. {chart} Business confidence across all regions has strengthened. Many firms consider the impacts of the pandemic on their activities to be behind them. Firms’ outlooks for domestic and foreign demand have improved from low levels a year ago, as most businesses are no longer preoccupied with pandemic-related uncertainty. Still, some businesses tied to high‑contact services continue to report weakness in demand. Nearly two‑thirds of firms indicated their sales have reached or exceeded pre-pandemic levels—an inc ... (full story)

"Many firms consider the impacts of the pandemic on their activities to be behind them," the Bank of Canada (BoC) noted in its Business Outlook Survey for the first quarter on Monday. Key takeaways as summarized by Reuters "Survey shows continued improvement in business sentiment; outlook indicator hits highest since level since mid-2018." "64% of firms indicated sales have reached or exceeded pre-pandemic levels; this is higher than the 52% recorded in Q4 and a sign recovery is broadening further." "Domestic and foreign sales prospects have picked up from weak levels a year ago, but outlook remains challenging for ... (full story)