Foreign Holdings of U.S. Treasury Securities

## What this measures

The total stock of U.S. Treasury securities (bills, notes and bonds) held by foreign residents at the end of each month: governments, central banks and private investors together, in US$ billions. It is the "Grand Total" line of Treasury's Major Foreign Holders table.

## Why it matters

Foreign buyers fund a large part of the federal deficit. Whether their holdings keep pace with the debt shapes how much the rest of the market must absorb, and so long-term yields.

## How to read it

Compare it with total marketable Treasury debt: a rising level with a falling share means domestic buyers are taking more of each new issue. 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.