Foreign Treasury Pile Shrinks With China Further Trailing Japan
- Japan widens lead over China as top holder, though totals fall
- Market sell-off, weak trade driving numbers: Jefferies’ Simons
Mount Fuji stands beyond the skyline of Tokyo.
Photographer: Akio Kon/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The tally of U.S. government debt held by other countries continues to shrink, leaving Japan with a larger lead over China as the top foreign owner, according to the latest data from the Treasury Department.
While Japan’s holdings of U.S. notes, bills and bonds fell $7.2 billion to $1.16 trillion, China’s share dropped more -- by $12.4 billion to $1.09 trillion. That’s the smallest amount since March 2017. Nonetheless, each nation still holds more U.S. government securities than the combined holdings of the rest of the top five: the U.K., Brazil and Ireland.