International securities flows drop in May: StatsCan

Cross-border securities flows plunged in May, according to the latest data from Statistics Canada.

On the heels of a record $29.2 billion in foreign securities acquisitions by Canadian investors in April, investors added just $573 million worth of foreign securities in May.

At the same time, foreign investors added $2.3 billion in Canadian securities in the month, after averaging $24 billion in the first four months of the year.

StatsCan reported that foreign investors added $4.5 billion in Canadian corporate bonds in May, while selling $1.2 billion worth of equities (up from $570 million in April). Foreign investors also cut their exposure to money markets.

Canadian investors added $3.3 billion in U.S. Treasuries in the month but sold $1.7 billion of U.S. stocks. Canadians added non-U.S. foreign stocks, bringing the total of foreign stocks sold down to $837 million.

Investors cut their holdings of non-U.S. foreign bonds by $879 million.

Overall, international securities transaction activity generated a net inflow of $1.8 billion into the Canadian economy in May, following a $7.0 billion net outflow in April.

James Langton

James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994.