Foreign investment in Canadian securities slowed for a fourth straight month

Foreign investment in Canadian securities slowed for a fourth straight month to $5.2 billion in July. At the same time, Canadian investors continued to invest in foreign securities by adding $4.6 billion to their holdings.

Foreign investment in Canadian securities slowed for a fourth straight month to $5.2 billion in July. Non-resident investors resumed their acquisitions of Canadian debt securities, but purchased equities at a much slower pace. Despite the lower activity in July, foreign investment in Canadian securities from January to July was strong, totalling $85.7 billion, compared with $65.9 billion for the same period in 2015.

Foreign investors acquired $6.2 billion of Canadian bonds in July, mainly secondary market purchases of government instruments denominated in Canadian dollars. Foreign investment was led by a $4.8 billion acquisition of federal government bonds, following a divestment of $8.1 billion in June. On the other hand, non-resident investors reduced their exposure to private corporate bonds for the first time since October 2015, as retirements exceeded new issues. In July, Canadian long-term interest rates were down by five basis points and the Canadian dollar depreciated by 0.8 US cent against its US counterpart.