China increased Treasury purchases in January

Treasury data released Thursday showed that China renewed net purchases of US government debt, Reuters reported. China, the largest lender to the US, increased its holdings by US$7.6 billion in January to US$1.16 trillion, while Japan, the second-largest holder of US Treasuries, increased its assets to a record $1.079 trillion. The Bank of New York Mellon deemed Chinese purchases in January a positive sign, noting that China sold US$102.6 billion from last August to December. However, Eric Green, chief of US rates research and strategy at TD Securities in New York, was more bearish. “The downtrend in Chinese buying continues. Their net Treasuries position is still down US$33 billion over the past 12 months. They will buy Treasuries but will buy them [at] a slower rate,” he said. Net overall capital inflows into the US dropped to US$18.825 billion in January from a revised US$95.216 billion the month before.