06:48 AM EST, 11/29/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Canada notched up a second consecutive quarter of net foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows -- the first back-to-back pluses in a decade, noted Bank of Montreal (BMO).

Inflows into Canada were well above average at a solid C$23 billion in Q3, while outflows were the lowest in a decade at just above C$9 billion -- a typical quarter sees more than C$20 billion of investment abroad, said the bank.

Combined, the net C$14 billion FDI inflow was one of the largest on record, stated BMO.

In tandem with a smaller-than-expected current account deficit for the same quarter at "just" C$3.2 billion, and that's a double dose of decent news on Caanda's balance of payments front, added the bank.

However, before getting too positive, BMO pointed out that both are still firmly in the red on a rolling average. The current account gap was C$10 billion in the past four quarters -- a modest 0.3% of gross domestic product -- while the FDI outflow was C$35 billion, or 1.1% of GDP.