In August, foreigners sold Canadian securities for the first time in five months, according to Statistics Canada. The net reduction amounted to 8.47 billion Canadian dollars ($6.23 billion), marking a significant shift after four months of strong investment. Nonresident investors decreased their holdings of Canadian shares by 5.79 billion Canadian dollars, bringing the total divestment for the year to 40.93 billion Canadian dollars.
Canadian Investors Increase Investment in Foreign Securities
Simultaneously, Canadian investors made their largest investment in foreign securities since April 2022. Purchases for the month totaled 14.94 billion Canadian dollars, primarily in shares and, to a lesser extent, U.S. bonds. Among the foreign shares, Canadian investors added approximately 6.7 billion Canadian dollars’ worth of U.S. shares and 3.9 billion Canadian dollars in non-U.S. foreign shares.
Consequently, this activity resulted in a net outflow from the Canadian economy of roughly 23.4 billion Canadian dollars in August.
Monthly Report on International Securities Transactions
The monthly international securities report encompasses a portfolio of transactions involving equity and investment fund shares, bonds, and money market instruments for both Canadian and foreign issues. However, transactions between affiliated enterprises are not included.
