Canada sees 41.2 billion Canadian dollars leave through securities trades
Canada recorded a net securities outflow of 41.2 billion Canadian dollars in August after inflows over the first seven months. Canadians resumed buying US shares, while foreign investors sold Canadian securities for the first month this year. Record foreign sales of federal debt instruments accounted for a large part of the shift.
Economics & Markets··Evening
August reverses the earlier net inflow
Canada’s international securities transactions generated a net outflow of 41.2 billion Canadian dollars in August. Statistics Canada, the national statistical agency, released the figures on October 16. Canadian investors bought foreign securities while non-residents reduced holdings in Canada. The change followed net inflows of 123.8 billion Canadian dollars across January–July.[1], [2]
Canadian purchases of foreign securities totalled 23.9 billion Canadian dollars, following net sales of 30.6 billion Canadian dollars in July. Foreign investors sold 17.3 billion Canadian dollars of Canadian securities. This was their first monthly net divestment of the year, although their first-eight-month purchases still amounted to 161.6 billion Canadian dollars, against 27.1 billion Canadian dollars a year earlier.[1]
Canadians return to US equities
Canadian investors acquired 28.9 billion Canadian dollars of US shares after selling 31.0 billion Canadian dollars in July. Purchases during the first eight months reached 76.0 billion Canadian dollars, compared with 52.6 billion Canadian dollars in the corresponding earlier-year period. The renewed equity buying was accompanied by further sales of US government bonds.[1]
US government bond sales were 8.6 billion Canadian dollars, the seventh consecutive monthly divestment in those instruments. Canadians bought 2.7 billion Canadian dollars of foreign bonds denominated in their own currency and 1.8 billion Canadian dollars of US money-market instruments. These different categories contributed to the aggregate foreign-securities transaction total.[1]
Federal debt sales reach a record
Foreign investors sold a record 17.5 billion Canadian dollars of Canadian federal debt: 11.2 billion Canadian dollars of bonds and 6.3 billion Canadian dollars of short-term paper. They had bought 99.4 billion Canadian dollars in the preceding seven months. Purchases of corporate and provincial bonds were 7.6 billion and 1.6 billion Canadian dollars respectively. Foreigners also sold 9.9 billion Canadian dollars of Canadian shares, affecting industries outside banking. The statistics measure net portfolio transactions and exclude direct investment between affiliated companies.[1]
