China's US Treasury holdings close to 12-month high

China’s holdings of US Treasury notes and bonds rose by US$23.3 billion to US$906.8 billion in October, its largest position in nearly a year, the Wall Street Journal reported. Net purchases came to more than US$15 billion in September, taking total net purchases since June to US$63.1 billion. Treasury sales by China in late 2009 and early 2010 prompted fears that the country was cutting back on its dollar exposure. However, some of that activity was the result of portfolio rebalancing with a greater focus on longer-term US government debt products. Beijing remains the largest foreign holder of US government debt, the Treasury Department said. Japan is in second place with holdings of US$877.4 billion in October, up from US$864.6 billion the previous month.