NEW YORK: US investment-grade issuers raised US$132.252bn selling bonds in July, making it the fifth busiest month on record and the third busiest in 2015, according to IFR data. The tally of new high-grade deals was 75% higher than the previous record of US$75.773bn that was set in July 2013. Bulk of the volumes were due to corporates funding jumbo acquisitions despite challenging conditions. “It was definitely a very sporadic month, and you saw deals jamming the market at the same time when there were windows of opportunity,” said one New-York based syndicate banker. The Bank of America Merrill Lynch Master Index hit its widest levels of the year this week at Treasuries plus 156bp. As a result of broader market volatility due to worries about Greece and Chinese stock markets at the end of June and into July, the first high-grade deal did not price until July 7.