WASHINGTON - China boosted purchases of US long-term securities by 2 percent to $895.2 billion in March, the first increase in six months, reported the US Treasury Department on Monday.
The department said that foreign net purchases of US long-term securities were $140.5 billions in March, up from $47.1 billion in the previous month. The March increase was the largest one-month gain on record. It surpassed the old record of a net increase of $135.8 billion in May 2007.
The figures reflect demand for US Treasury obligations and other assets including stocks and government agency debt, a key to funding the massive US balance of payments deficit with the rest of the world.
Total foreign holdings of US Treasury securities rose 3.5 percent to $3.88 trillion in March.
According to the Treasury International Capital (TIC) report, China, the largest holder of US Treasury securities, increased its holdings by $17.7 billion in March from the previous month of $877.5 billion.
Japan, the second largest foreign holder of US government debt, increased its holdings by 2.1 percent to $784.9 billion.
Britain also boosted its holdings to $279.0 billion in March from $233.5 billion in February.
