OTTAWA, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Foreign investors slowed their acquisition of Canadian securities in August, with purchases concentrated in the Canadian bond market, data from Statistics Canada showed on Monday.
International investors bought C$9.85 billion ($7.85 billion in Canadian securities after buying an upwardly revised C$23.97 billion in July.
August's purchases were below the monthly average investment of C$17.71 billion seen over this year from January to July, the statistics agency said.
Acquisitions were driven by the purchase of C$8.15 billion in Canadian bonds, particularly federal and provincial government bonds on the secondary market.
At the same time, Canadians resumed their purchases on international securities, buying C$12.04 billion in assets after divesting C$1.78 billion in July.
Canadians bought C$4.9 billion in foreign bonds, the largest amount since February 2016. Purchases were driven by U.S. corporate bonds, as well as U.S. Treasuries and non-U.S. foreign bonds.
Canadians also bought C$7.2 billion in foreign equities, largely in U.S. stocks as markets edged up in August.
($1=$1.2544 Canadian)
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