China's holdings of US Treasuries increased for a second straight month in April, making it the largest holder of US government debt, data from the US Treasury Department showed on Monday. China held $1.263 trillion in US Treasuries, up from $1.261 trillion in March. Its holdings peaked at $1.317 trillion in November 2013. Japan had the second-largest holdings of US Treasuries, with $1.215 trillion in April, down from $1.226 trillion in March.
Belgium, which as recently as February was the third-largest holder of US debt, reduced its holdings further in April, to $228.9 billion from $252.8 billion in March. Belgium's holdings in April were the lowest since November 2013, when they were $200.6 billion. The euro zone country's holdings of US Treasuries topped out at a record $381.4 billion in March 2014, but have since dropped 40 percent, the data showed.
Overall, foreigners bought long-term US securities for a third straight month in April. Net buying of long-term US assets totalled $53.9 billion in April after revised inflows of $25.6 billion in March. Including short-dated assets such as bills, overseas investors bought $106.6 billion, reversing outflows of $95.2 billion the previous month. Private investors bought $119.9 billion in US assets in April, while foreign central banks and other official institutions sold $13.3 billion.
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