Foreign investors continued to grow in June while Canadian investment in foreign securities in rose to the highest level since January 2018, Statistics Canada announced Friday.

Foreign investment in Canadian securities totalled $11.5 billion in June, which was up from $3.0 billion in May. Canadian bonds were the central source of the buying action, with monthly investment totaling $11.7 billion.

“New issues of Canadian private corporate bonds placed in foreign markets, largely denominated in foreign currencies, led the investment activity,” StatsCan says in a news release. At the same time, foreign investors reduced their holdings of Canadian government bonds.

Foreign investors acquired $1.5 billion worth of Canadian stocks in June, reversing a $2.8 billion divestment in May. They also reduced their holdings of Canadian money market instruments by $1.7 billion during the month.

Canadian investment in foreign securities increased to $11.3 billion in June, the largest investment since January 2018. Debt securities accounted for $7.3 billion of the buying activity, with another $4 billion coming in foreign stocks. Investment in equities rebounded following three straight months of divestment by Canadian investors.

For the first half of 2018, foreign investors acquired a total $43.7 billion of Canadian securities, down from $98.2 billion for the same period in 2017. Foreign investment in Canadian stocks was $6.7 billion in the first half, down from $47.1 billion for the same period in 2017. Canadian investment in foreign securities totalled $35.4 billion for the first half, compared with $39.7 billion in 2017.