Foreign investment in Canadian bonds totalled $17.3 billion in May

Foreign investment in Canadian securities remained high at $14.7 billion in May, led by acquisitions of federal government bonds on the secondary market. At the same time, Canadian investors added $5.1 billion of foreign securities to their holdings, mainly equities.

Foreign investors continued to invest in Canadian securities at a strong pace in May, adding $14.7 billion to their holdings. This activity was on par with the average investment recorded in the previous four months. Foreign investment during the month focused on Canadian bonds. Since the beginning of the year, foreign acquisitions of Canadian securities have totalled $74.6 billion, compared with $66.2 billion for the same period in 2015.

Foreign investment in Canadian bonds totalled $17.3 billion in May, the largest investment since March 2015. Foreign investors acquired $9.8 billion of federal government bonds, mainly secondary market purchases of Canadian dollar denominated instruments. Foreign investors also added $5.4 billion of federal government enterprises bonds to their holdings, principally new issues. In addition, foreign investment in Canadian private corporate bonds amounted to $2.6 billion, a seventh consecutive month of investment in these instruments. Canadian long-term interest rates were down 12 basis points in May.