Foreigners in November Acquire C$19.56 Billion in Canadian Securities

Foreigners acquired a sizable amount of Canadian securities in November, with the bulk of cash flowing into government and corporate bonds.

Meanwhile, Canadian investors sold off foreign securities, the first such selloff in four months.

Foreign investors bought a net 19.56 billion Canadian dollars ($15.72 billion) in Canadian securities in November, Statistics Canada said Friday, a slight slowdown after purchasing a revised C$20.77 billion in the previous month.

Nonresidents concentrated their purchases in Canadian bonds, which reached C$17.75 billion in the month. November's bond-buying spree marked the third straight month acquisitions were above the C$15 billion mark.

Canada's trade and current account deficits with the rest of the world mean the country requires fresh capital inflows to prevent the currency from weakening. Economists note the country's capital account indicates net inflows of cash have been dominated by purchases of bonds, rather than foreign direct investment.

The data also indicate Canadians in November sold a net C$4.59 billion in foreign securities, after a C$16.56 billion buying spree in the previous month.

As a result, Canada recorded a new inflow of capital in November of C$24.15 billion.

Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 19, 2018 08:46 ET (13:46 GMT)