India’s Holdings of US Gov’t Securities Jump

Continuing to increase its exposure, India’s holdings of American government securities touched $145.1 billion at the end of September, official data showed.

Remaining the 11th largest holder of the US Treasury securities, India increased its holdings by little over $6 billion in September compared to August when the same stood at $138.9 billion, PTI reported.

The US government data showed that India’s holdings rose to $145.1 billion in September—also the highest so far this year. As per data from the US Treasury Department, the exposure of India to these securities has been on the rise since February when it had touched $112.3 billion.

The country’s holdings have jumped by $31.4 billion in eight months starting January when the exposure was at $113.7 billion. This also comes at a time when there are conflicting reports that the American economy is recording steady growth over the past few quarters.

Neighboring China topped the list with holdings worth $1.181 trillion as on September end followed by Japan whose exposure stood at $1.096 trillion during the same period. With holdings to the tune of $310.8 billion, Ireland was at the third place followed by Brazil ($272.8 billion) and Cayman Islands ($267.6 billion) at fourth and fifth places, respectively.

India is the 11th largest holder of US Treasury securities and third largest among the BRICS grouping. At the end of September, Russia’s exposure stood at $103.9 billion.

“Foreign residents increased their holdings of long-term US securities in September; net purchases were $60.8 billion. Net purchases by private foreign investors were $59.5 billion, while net purchases by foreign official institutions were $1.3 billion,” the Treasury Department said in a release on November 15.

China’s holdings of US Treasuries declined for the first time in eight months in September, after hitting their highest since July 2016 in August, data from the US Treasury Department showed, Reuters reported.

China’s treasury holdings fell to $1.18 trillion, from $1.2 trillion in August. The world’s second largest economy, however, remains the largest non-US holder of US Treasuries. Since January, China has added nearly $130 billion in US debt.

Analysts had said China had been buying treasuries for the most part of 2017 to counter the strengthening of the renminbi. In the third quarter, the world’s largest economy grew 3%, as per the advanced estimates from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis.