OTTAWA, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Foreign investment in Canadian securities accelerated in October, driven by a record purchase of bonds, while Canadians also increased their holdings of assets outside of the country, data from Statistics Canada showed on Monday.
International investors bought C$20.8 billion ($16.2 billion) in Canadian securities after acquiring a downwardly revised C$16.7 billion in September.
Foreigners bought C$27.9 billion worth of bonds, with purchases of new Canadian private corporate bonds accounting for C$17.7 billion.
Investors also bought C$6.0 billion in federal government bonds. Government bonds have attracted demand since July when the Bank of Canada announced its first of two interest rate hikes.
Since the start of the year, foreign investors have bought C$171.0 billion in Canadian securities, up from C$153.5 billion over the same time frame last year.
Canadians also increased their purchases of international securities in October, buying C$16.5 billion in assets, the largest investment since December 2015.
The activity was led by a C$14.2 billion investment in foreign equities, with the bulk of purchases in U.S. shares as U.S. stock prices rose 2.2 percent in the month.
($1=$1.2874 Canadian)
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