The U.S. Treasury Department revealed Thursday that foreign investors snapped up an estimated $103 billion worth of American long-term securities in April, while also increasing their Treasury holdings by $4 billion. The figures were released as part of the agency’s monthly Treasury International Capital report.
Japan remained one of the top holders of U.S. Treasury securities, growing its stake to $1.21 trillion in April, up from $1.19 trillion the month before. The United Kingdom also expanded its holdings, climbing to $938 billion from $927 billion in February. China, meanwhile, saw a slight decline, with its holdings slipping to $651 billion from $652 billion.
When combined, total foreign Treasury holdings reached $9.353 trillion in April — an improvement over March’s figure, though still below the record high of $9.49 trillion set in February.
Looking at the broader picture, all net foreign acquisitions in April resulted in a total TIC inflow of $26.1 billion. Within that figure, net foreign private outflows came to $23.1 billion, while net foreign official inflows totaled $49.2 billion.
Foreign residents also stepped up their overall purchases of long-term U.S. securities, with net buys reaching $206 billion for the month. Private foreign investors accounted for $164.4 billion of that total, while foreign official institutions contributed $41.6 billion.
The report is drawing extra attention from market watchers at a time when investors are carefully monitoring foreign demand for U.S. debt. Factors including the Federal Reserve’s continued fight against inflation and a surging bull market in artificial intelligence-related stocks are adding to that scrutiny.
Adding to the day’s financial activity, a U.S. auction of 5-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities on Thursday was well received by buyers, partly reflecting a recent uptick in inflation-adjusted “real rates” within the TIPS market.
