China Reduces Holdings of U.S. Treasury Debt in June

»China reduced its holding of U.S. Treasury debt for a second straight month in June, but still remains the biggest overseas holder.

»China’s holding fell by 24 billion U.S. dollars to 843.7 billion by end-June, the U.S. Treasury Department said Monday in a monthly report on debt holding. The nation cut its holding by 32.5 billion U.S. dollars in May.

»Meanwhile, Japan, the second largest owner of Treasuries, increased its holdings in June to 80.6 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 2.5 percent.

»Britain’s holdings rose by 12.2 billion U.S. dollars to 362.2 billion, marking the third largest holder.

»The debt figures are being closely watched at a time when the U.S. government is running up record annual deficits and public debts. A drop in foreign demand would lead to higher interest rates in the United States.

»The government recorded a $1.41 trillion deficit last year and this figure is expected to rise to 1.47 trillion dollars this year.