Japan Extends Lead Over China As Biggest Foreign Holder Of US Treasurys

Japan resumed its buying of USTs in October (the latest TIC data), while China continued selling...

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Source: Bloomberg

China was the second-largest foreign creditor in October, with $1.10 trillion in holdings. That’s the smallest amount since April 2017.

After overtaking China in June, Japan’s holdings of U.S. notes, bills and bonds increased to $1.17 trillion in October from $1.15 trillion a month earlier and are now back near the widest gap to China's holdings since July 2008...

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Source: Bloomberg

Notably, Belgium (often considered a proxy for Chinese offshore holdings), Cayman Islands (hedge funds), and the Saudis all dumped major chunks of their Treasury holdings in October...

Belgium holds $208.3b of U.S. Treasuries, a decrease of $10b from the prior month
Cayman Islands hold $225.1b, a decrease of $13.6b from last month
Saudi Arabia holds $178.9b, a decrease of $2.6b from last month

Finally, we note that total foreign ownership of Treasuries was little changed after posting the biggest monthly drop since 2017 in September.

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Overall foreign holdings of U.S. debt climbed $1.6 billion to $6.78 trillion in October, but foreign central banks have sold TSYs for 14 consecutive months...

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