China reclaims spot as world's biggest holder of treasuries

(Aug 16): China reclaimed its position as the top foreign owner of U.S. Treasuries after increasing its holdings for the fifth straight month.

China’s holdings of U.S. bonds, notes and bills rose to US$1.15 trillion ($1.57 trillion) in June, up US$44.3 billion from a month earlier, according to Treasury Department data released Tuesday in Washington. Japan owned US$1.09 trillion, a decrease of US$20.5 billion from its total in May. Japan had overtaken China in October as the largest holder of American government bonds, the figures showed.

The two countries account for more than a third of all foreign ownership of Treasuries, which gained by US$47.7 billion in June to US$6.17 trillion, the figures showed.

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