U.S. Treasury Securities Held in Brazil

## What this measures

U.S. Treasury securities (bills, notes and bonds) held by residents of Brazil at the end of each month, in US$ billions: the government, the central bank and private investors together, as reported in Treasury's Major Foreign Holders table.

## Why it matters

Brazil is one of the 20 largest foreign holders of U.S. government debt. Changes in its holdings show up in reserve management, currency defence and where global savings are parked.

## How to read it

Compare it with the total of all foreign holdings, or use the matching share series (this holder's % of all foreign-held Treasuries). Monthly moves also reflect price changes on longer bonds, not only buying and selling.

## What it does not say

TIC records who holds the securities as reported by U.S. custodians and broker-dealers. Treasuries held in a custody account in another country are credited to that country, so financial centres (Belgium, Luxembourg, the Cayman Islands, the United Kingdom, Switzerland) hold much that belongs to investors elsewhere. Annual benchmark surveys re-base the series, which can move a country's level in a single month.

## Source

U.S. Department of the Treasury and Federal Reserve Board, Treasury International Capital (TIC) system: "Major Foreign Holders of Treasury Securities" (ticdata.treasury.gov, slt_table5.txt for the latest 13 months, mfhhis01.txt for history back to March 2000). U.S. Government work, public domain. Palanor re-reads both files on every run, because Treasury revises past years when it benchmarks the series.