China Rethink on Treasuries Is Echo of Premier's 2009 Worry

U.S. debt rebounds after jolt on news China may slow purchases
Then and now, few alternatives seen for investing reserves

Bloomberg’s Mark Cudmore reports on Treasuries and the bond markets.(Source: Bloomberg)

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By Liz Capo McCormick, Katie Greifeld, and Saleha Mohsin

January 10, 2018 at 11:08 PM UTC

Updated on

January 11, 2018 at 1:07 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

China’s showing once again that it’s not afraid to wield the clout of its hoard of Treasuries to catch the attention of U.S. officials and the world’s biggest debt market. But as in a previous episode in 2009, such warnings may prove hollow.

Senior Chinese government officials have recommended slowing or halting purchases of Treasuries, in part given trade tensions with the U.S., according to people familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg News Wednesday -- news that wound up having little lasting impact on trading as yields ended little changed after spiking to the highest since March.