Japan has overtaken China as the biggest holder of U.S. government bonds, as figures for foreign ownership of U.S. Treasurys in October show that China’s holdings declined to the lowest in more than six years as its central bank used its foreign exchange reserves to support the yuan. Japan’s Treasury holdings also decreased but at a slower pace; Japan trimmed $4.5B of U.S. paper to end the month with $1.131T, while China’s holdings plunged by $41.3B to $1.115T, the lowest level since July 2010 and capping a decline of five straight months. China has been dipping into its reserves, selling Treasurys to support the yuan, which yesterday fell to its weakest level vs. the U.S. dollar in more than eight years.
Japan has overtaken China as the biggest holder of U.S. government bonds
