Canada’s current account surplus with the rest of the world, on a seasonally adjusted basis, increased $400 million in the third quarter to $5.1 billion, according to a Statistics Canada report released today.

After four quarters of fluctuations, the goods surplus remained little changed and the deficit on investment income fell as receipts increased, the report says.

In the capital and financial account (not seasonally adjusted), Canada increased its international assets during the quarter mainly due to record acquisitions of foreign securities by portfolio investors. The largest investment by foreign direct investors in nearly six years pushed Canada’s international liabilities up, partly offsetting the higher assets.

The surplus on trade in goods decreased $700 million to $12.2 billion in the third quarter, the lowest level in more than three years, the agency said. Exports rebounded to the first-quarter level while imports continued to increase.