Figures released Thursday by Statistics Canada suggested this country was solidly in the black compared to what she owed in the second quarter of calendar 2017.
The agency said the value of Canada's net foreign asset position increased by $25.7 billion in the second quarter to $271.5 billion, a fourth-consecutive quarterly advance. The increase in the net asset position mainly reflected the stronger performance of foreign stock markets relative to the Canadian stock market. Over the quarter, the U.S. stock market rose 2.6% while the Canadian stock market declined by 2.4%.
However, the increase in Canada's net foreign asset position was moderated by the downward effect of a stronger dollar against the United States dollar and net borrowings from international financial transactions. Over the quarter, the loonie gained 2.5% against the greenback and 3.4% against the Japanese yen, but lost 4.2% against the euro and 1.2% against the British pound. Over half of Canada's international assets and about one-third of Canada's international liabilities are denominated in U.S. dollars.
On a geographical basis, says StatsCan, Canada continued to post a net foreign asset position with countries other than the United States overall and a net foreign debt position with the United States. The net foreign debt position with the United States amounted to $70.9 billion at the end of the second quarter, down from $89.7 billion in the first quarter.
