China US Treasury Holdings Fall as India Stakes Rise to $219.7B

China's holdings of US Treasury securities decreased sharply in August while India's holdings increased for a third consecutive month, according to data released by the US Treasury in Washington on October 17. The figures were published in the latest report by Treasury International Capital.

China's holdings dropped to $590.7 billion at the end of August, down from $618 billion in July and $699.7 billion a year earlier, representing a decline of about $109 billion over 12 months. In contrast, India's holdings grew to $219.7 billion in August from $202.6 billion in July, marking a single-month gain of approximately $17 billion. India's holdings previously stood at a low of $181 billion in April, rising steadily to $181.3 billion in May, $186.4 billion in June, and $202.6 billion in July, returning to levels similar to a year prior when India held $219.4 billion. Consequently, the gap in holdings between the two Asian economies narrowed to roughly $371 billion from about $480 billion a year ago.

India currently ranks 14th among the largest foreign holders of US Treasuries, positioned behind Hong Kong at $261.5 billion and ahead of Norway at $214 billion. Japan remained the largest foreign holder at $1,068.3 billion despite a drop from July, followed by the United Kingdom at $1,009.5 billion, Mainland China, Belgium, Canada, the Cayman Islands, and Luxembourg. Overall, the Treasury reported a net TIC inflow of $199.8 billion in August, noting that foreign residents increased long-term US security holdings by $300.7 billion while decreasing US Treasury bill holdings by $47.8 billion. The Treasury cautioned that country figures may not reflect precise actual ownership due to being collected primarily from US-based custodians and broker-dealers.

The next TIC release covering September data is scheduled to be published on November 18.