Foreigners are buying up Canadian public debt at the fastest pace in more than two years.
International investors bought a net $21.3 billion of bonds and bills issued by Canada’s federal and provincial governments and their business enterprises in January, Statistics Canada reported Friday. That’s the largest investment since November 2021.
A net $14.1 billion in purchases of federal government debt led the foreign inflows, as well as a $6.6 billion investment in securities of government corporations and business enterprises.
Outside public sector debt, non-residents reduced their private sector corporate paper by a record $15.5 billion, the agency said, which was “largely attributable to retirements of instruments from the banking sector.”
Canadians sold a net $7.6 billion in foreign securities in January, after a record $29.4 billion in net purchases in December.
In total, net foreign investment in Canadian securities was $8.9 billion, down from $10.8 billion in January.
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