China increased US Treasury bond holdings in July

China increased its holdings in US Treasury bonds to more than US$800 billion in July, the Wall Street Journal reported. China was one of only three countries that increased their shares of US debt in July. The US Treasury Department is auctioning off record amounts of US debt to cover the country’s massive budget deficit, which is expected to reach US$1.58 trillion this year. But while China, the UK and Japan increased their stakes, there was a general decline in the market for Treasuries. Foreigners only purchased US$15.3 billion more assets than they sold in July, a steep decline from June, when they purchased US$90 billion more than they sold. China, which holds US$800.5 billion in US Treasury bonds, remains the the largest foreign holder the securities, followed by Japan, which holds US$724.5 billion.