Foreign Holdings of U.S. Debt Soar to Record Highs

(Newsroom America) -- The amount of U.S. debt held by foreign countries reached a record high in April, as China reversed two months of declines to purchase more U.S. Treasury bonds, the government said Friday.

Beijing, already the largest holder of U.S. debt, slightly increased its share by 0.1 percent to $1.15 trillion, while overall foreign holdings rose 0.4 to $5.16 trillion, the Treasury Department announced, adding that April was the fourth straight month that holdings increased.

Japan - the second-largest holder - trimmed its share of U.S. debt 0.9 percent to $1.07 trillion, as Brazil, the third-largest holder, boosted its holdings 5.3 percent to $246.7 billion.

Britain increased its share 26.5 percent to $154.2 billion while France increased its holdings by 29.4 percent to $59.4 billion.

Germany, Europe's largest economy, also increased its U.S. debt holdings 1.5 percent to $65.6 billion.

Demand for U.S. Treasury securities has remained strong despite a first-ever downgrade of the government's credit rating by Standard & Poor's last year from AAA to AA+.

The ratings agency has said U.S. lawmakers are not satisfactorily addressing the country's long-term debt problem, predicting debt would rise from 77 percent of the economy in 2011 to 83 percent this year.

© 2012 Newsroom America.

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