Cdns bought $7.9B in foreign securities in March, Statistics Canada

OTTAWA - Statistics Canada says Canadian investors acquired $7.9 billion in foreign securities in March, the largest such outflow of funds since November 2012.

The agency says foreigners, meanwhile, reduced their holdings of Canadian securities by $1.2 billion, the first monthly divestment this year.

It says the moves led to a net outflow of $9.1 billion from the Canadian economy in March on portfolio transactions and $10.4 billion for the first quarter of 2014.

Canadian investment abroad was led by investments in foreign equity markets, while foreign investors continued to reduce their exposure to Canadian debt instruments.

Canadian investment in foreign shares totalled $6.4 billion in March, the highest recorded since April 2007.

These investments mainly targeted non-U.S. equities.