Japan surpasses China as largest foreign holder of US Treasurys

KEY POINTS

• Japan surpassed China as the largest foreign holder of U.S. Treasurys in June.
• Japan has $1.12 trillion Treasury securities, and China, $1.11 trillion.

A Japanese flag flies atop the Bank of Japan (BOJ) headquarters in Tokyo, Japan

Yuriko Nakao | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Japan surpassed China as the largest foreign holder of U.S. Treasury securities in June.

Japan has added about $21 billion since May, making its holdings the largest since October, 2016. Japan now holds $1.12 trillion Treasurys, and China has $1.11 trillion, a $2 billion increase from the month earlier, according to U.S. Treasury department data.

China has been a less aggressive buyer of the U.S. sovereign debt, and market players have speculated that one action it could take in the trade war with the U.S. is to lighten up on its U.S. holdings. But there are no signs that is happening, according to traders.

The U.K. is the third-largest holder with $342.3 billion, up from $323.1 billion a month earlier.