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The value of debt securities outstanding for Canadian companies and governments held steady in the second quarter, according to new data from Statistics Canada.

The book value of debt securities rose by just 0.1% in the quarter to $4.34 trillion, as $33.6 billion in net issuance was largely offset by the impact of a stronger Canadian dollar (diminishing the value of debt denominated in foreign currencies), resulting in an increase of just $6.4 billion for the quarter.

StatsCan says this represents the slowest quarterly increase since the start of 2016.

Net issuance in Q2 was down sharply from $67.6 billion worth in the first quarter. Canadian governments issued $20.7 billion and financial corporations issued issued $19.7 billion of debt securities in the quarter.

Measured by market value, debt issued by Canadian entities rose by 1.3% in the second quarter to $4.6 trillion, it notes.

The difference between market and book value “was attributable mainly to changes in interest rates,” it notes, as lower rates boosted the market price of debt securities, particularly longer-term issues.

StatsCan also reports that $928.7 billion worth of debt is slated to mature within the next year (as of the end of the second quarter).

The amount of maturing debt is about 21.4% of total outstanding debt, which StatsCan says is the highest proportion since the fourth quarter of 2015.