WASHINGTON — China, the largest holder of U.S. Treasury debt, slightly increased its holdings in July after two months of declines.
China’s holdings of Treasury securities edged up to $846.7 billion in July, the Treasury Department reported Thursday. That’s an increase of 0.4 percent, after declines of 2.7 percent in June and 3.6 percent in May.
The debt figures are being closely watched at a time when the U.S. government is running record annual deficits. A drop in foreign demand could lead to higher interest rates in the United States.
Japan, the second-largest holder of U.S. Treasury bonds and notes, increased its holdings 2.2 percent to $821 billion. Britain, which holds the No. 3 spot, saw a 3.3 percent increase in holdings to $374.3 billion.
Net foreign purchases of Treasury notes and bonds by all countries totaled $29.98 billion in July, down 9.9 percent from the June figure of $33.26 billion in net foreign purchases.
Net purchases of all long-term securities, a category that includes government debt and the debt of corporations, totaled $61.2 billion in July. That’s up 37.8 percent from $44.4 billion in net purchases in June.
