Canadian investors acquired $1.9 billion in foreign securities in August, with $1.6 billion going to stocks, says Statistics Canada.

Foreign investors reduced their holdings of Canadian securities by $7.2 billion in August says Statistics Canada.

Foreign holdings of Canadian debt securities were down $8.5 billion while foreign holdings of Canadian stocks rose by $1.3 billion.

Foreign investors sold off a record $7.8 billion worth of Canadian bonds in August, after reducing their holdings by $4 billion in July.

At the same time, the gap between Canadian long-term interest rates and U.S. rates, which have been favouring investment in Canada, narrowed in August to the lowest level since May 2002.