China increases US debt holding in July

China, the largest holder of US Treasury debt, slightly increased its Treasury securities holdings by 0.4% to US$846.7 billion in July after two months of declines, AP reported. This comes after a drop of 2.7% in June and 3.6% in May. Japan, the second largest holder of US Treasury bonds and notes, increased its holdings by 2.2% to US$821 billion. Debt figures are being watched closely as the US government is running record annual deficits, and a decline in foreign demand could lead to higher interest rates for the country. Net foreign purchases of Treasury notes and bonds by all countries totaled US$29.98 billion in July, down 9.9% from the June figure of US$33.26 billion. Net purchases of all long-term securities totaled US$61.2 billion in July, up 37.8% from US$44.4 billion in June.