Canadian Exporter Confidence Rebounds To 20-Year High - EDC Index

• Confidence among Canadian exporters has surged to its highest level in more than 20 years, amid mounting optimism that a sustained global economic recovery is underway, a survey by Export Development Canada (EDC) showed on Thursday. 
• EDC's Trade Confidence Index jumped 19% from end-2020 to mid-2021, the largest 6-month increase since the survey began in 1999, the agency said. The recovery appears to be broad-based across all regions of the country, it said. 
• Canada's economy - like those of many of its global peers - is set to boom in the second half of 2021, as widespread public vaccinations allow businesses to reopen and consumers begin to dip into their pandemic savings. 
• A strong rebound south of the border is also expected to help. A growing share of companies reported orders from customers in the United States, Canada's largest trading partner, had improved in the past six months, EDC said. 
• And 65% of respondents said they are planning to export to new markets, with the UK and Australia top destinations. Exports account for about a third of Canada's gross domestic product.

(Source: Reuters)