The Bank of Canada released its business outlook survey for the second quarter on Monday:

• There are "some encouraging signs for the economic outlook, although lingering uncertainty amid intense competition still hinders the pace of growth";
  
• 64 % of executives expect the inflation to be at 1% to 2% over the next two years;
  
• Canadian companies saw a "more modest improvement" in sales over the past 12 months, "expectations for future sales growth remain positive, and there are indications that business sentiment regarding exports is gradually firming";
  
• Competitive conditions remain challenging;
  
• Canadian companies operating on the domestic market hope that sales growth will improve;
  
• Canadian companies operating on the international markets saw an improvement compared with a year ago due to a strengthening of the U.S. economy and the depreciation of the Canadian dollar.