China increased its holdings of US government securities in February after allowing purchases to slow in the second half of last year, Bloomberg reported. China’s longer-term holdings rose by 1.1% to US$1.18 trillion in February, the first months of consecutive gains in its Treasury debt since July, while its short-term holdings rose by US$800 million to US$3.8 billion, according to US data. The increase comes after China reduced its position in USD government debt in 2011 as yields fell to record lows. China’s currency reserves rose 3.9% in the first quarter of 2012 from the previous three months. Net foreign purchases of US Treasuries rose 0.8% to a record US$5.1 trillion in February, the data showed. Japan maintained its position as the second-largest foreign lender to the US after China; the Fed remained the top holder of US debt with US$1.677 trillion on its balance sheet.
Categories