Foreign central banks' ownership of U.S. Treasuries rose while agency securities at the Federal Reserve fell, resulting in an overall drop in foreign holdings of U.S. government securities in the latest week, data from the U.S. central bank showed on Thursday.
The combined holdings of Treasuries and agency securities by foreign central banks at the Fed fell by $541 million to $3.102 trillion in the week ended July 7.
Treasuries held by overseas central banks at the Fed rose by $738 million to $2.279 trillion.
Foreign central banks' holdings of securities issued or guaranteed by the biggest U.S. mortgage financing agencies, including Fannie Mae FNMA.OB and Freddie Mac FMCC.N, fell by $1.28 billion to $822.92 billion in the latest week.
Overseas central banks, particularly in Asia, have been huge buyers of U.S. debt in recent years and own more than a quarter of marketable Treasuries. Japan and China are the biggest two holders of Treasuries.
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