Canada's international transactions in securities, February 2016
Archived Content
Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.
Released: 2016-04-18
$15.9 billion
February 2016
Foreign investment in Canadian securities reached $15.9 billion in February, mainly in Canadian dollar denominated instruments. At the same time, Canadian investors resumed their acquisitions of foreign securities by adding $4.4 billion to their holdings, following a $14.7 billion divestment in January.
Foreign investment in Canadian securities strengthens
Foreign acquisitions of Canadian securities increased to $15.9 billion in February, the largest such investment since October 2015. For a second consecutive month, the activity was concentrated in the Canadian bond market.
Chart 1
Foreign investment in Canadian securities
Non-resident investment in Canadian bonds totalled $12.7 billion in February, mostly bonds denominated in Canadian dollars. On a sector basis, foreign acquisitions of federal government bonds reached $7.6 billion, all secondary market purchases. This investment occurred against the backdrop of a decline in the total outstanding amount of federal government bonds. The remainder of the foreign investment activity in the month was in provincial government and corporate bonds, mainly new issues placed abroad. Canadian long-term interest rates were down by nine basis points and the Canadian dollar appreciated against its US counterpart by 2.5 US cents in the month.
In contrast, foreign investors reduced their holdings of Canadian money market instruments by a moderate $164 million in February. Foreign acquisitions of provincial and government business enterprise paper were more than offset by a reduction in holdings of federal Treasury bills and private corporate paper. Canadian short-term interest rates edged down in the month.
Foreign investment in Canadian shares was $3.4 billion in February, following a modest investment in January. This level of investment was comparable to that observed in the last months of 2015. Canadian stock prices edged up in the month.
Canadian acquisitions of foreign securities resume
Canadian investors added $4.4 billion of foreign securities to their holdings in February, following a $14.7 billion divestment in January. Acquisitions in the month mainly targeted the US bond market.
Canadian acquisitions of foreign bonds were $5.4 billion in February, almost evenly split between US government and corporate bonds. US long-term interest rates were down by 31 basis points in the month, the largest decline in more than a year.
Canadian investors reduced their holdings of foreign equities by $1.1 billion in February. Canadian investors acquired $3.6 billion of non-US shares, but reduced their exposure to US shares by $4.7 billion. US stock prices edged down in February.
Chart 2
Canadian investment in foreign securities
Note to readers
The data series on international transactions in securities covers portfolio transactions in equity and investment fund shares, bonds, and money market instruments for both Canadian and foreign issues. This activity excludes transactions in equity and debt instruments between affiliated enterprises, which are classified as foreign direct investment in the international accounts.
Equity and investment fund shares include common and preferred equities as well as units/shares of investment funds.
Debt securities include bonds and money market instruments.
Bonds have an original term to maturity of more than one year.
Money market instruments have an original term to maturity of one year or less.
Government of Canada paper includes Treasury bills and US-dollar Canada bills.
All values in this release are net transactions unless otherwise stated.
Next release
Data on Canada's international transactions in securities for March will be released on May 18.
Contact information
For more information, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca).
To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Lauren Dong (613-668-3140; lauren.dong@canada.ca), International Accounts and Trade Division.
- Date modified: