EDC: Exporters more confident about global opportunities

OTTAWA — Canadian companies that ship their goods abroad feel more optimistic about international business opportunities over the next six months, according to a semi-annual report by Export Development Canada.

In the federal agency’s trade confidence index, 45 per cent of respondents said they believe opportunities will improve, compared to 33 per cent who held that opinion in the previous survey in late 2014.

The EDC says the latest figure is the highest for this particular question in the last 10 years.

Respondents cited the low Canadian dollar and resurgence of the U.S. economy as the main reasons for their positive outlook.

The EDC says overall trade confidence was tempered, however, by exporters’ bearish outlook on the domestic economy, which was mainly attributed to the downturn in the oil and gas sector and low Canadian dollar.

Weaker results in the domestic part of the survey caused the overall index to fall slightly to 75.1, down from 75.8 last fall.

“The small drop in the index is no cause for alarm,” said EDC chief economist Peter Hall. “The weaker overall result is totally due to softer domestic market expectations. In contrast, optimism about international business opportunities surged this spring.”

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