Non-residents bought $7.2 billion in Canadian securities in June, while Canadians sold $9.5 billion in foreign stocks, bonds and short-term paper, Statistics Canada reported today.

The foreign purchases, which were mostly bonds, finished a record second quarter investment of $27.6 billion.

StatsCan said Canadians sold off securities in the face of a troubled U.S. credit market and lacklustre global equity markets.

In June, Canadians sold $2.9 billion worth of foreign bonds, $475 million in short-term paper and $6.2 billion in stocks, continuing a sell-off that began more than six months ago.