Russia Leaves U.S. Debt Hoard Intact After $81 Billion Retreat

Russia halted a shift out of Treasuries held onshore in the U.S. after a mass exodus in the wake of sanctions in April.

Figures published on Wednesday indicated Russia’s holdings of U.S. bills, notes and bonds were unchanged at $14.9 billion in June. The numbers for April and May showed a reduction of $81 billion, or about four-fifths of the total, leading to speculation that Russia is dumping American assets to protect itself from the growing risk of harsher U.S. sanctions.