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Confidence in Canada’s oil heartland last week climbed to the highest since November, as crude prices reached US$50 a barrel and companies restarted production following wildfires in Alberta, telephone polling shows.

The Bloomberg Nanos Canadian consumer confidence index for the Prairies region including Alberta and Saskatchewan increased 1 point to 49.2 in the week ended May 27. The gain helped keep the national index at 57.5, close to the 2016 high of 57.7 in the previous report.

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The increase of consumer confidence in the region is in line with the Bank of Canada’s view in last week’s interest-rate decision that Canada’s economy will rebound in the third quarter.

Even with the setback from the fires, the Prairie region’s confidence has remained well above the all-time low of 41.4 in February, when oil prices fell to about $26 a barrel.

Crude climbed about 7 per cent this month in New York amid lower U.S. production and the unplanned disruptions in Canada and Nigeria. West Texas Intermediate fell 32 cents to $49.24 a barrel Monday.

Sentiment was also buoyed by expectations for real estate values. The share of respondents who expect home prices to rise in the next six months was 44.2, compared with a 12-month average of 35.2 per cent.