DJ TIC: China Net Seller Of US Treasurys In Oct, Remains Top Holder

Thu Dec 15 09:03:09 2011 EST

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--China sold U.S. Treasurys in October, reducing its net holdings but remaining the largest foreign holder amid the sovereign debt crisis in Europe, the Treasury Department said Thursday.

Overall, foreigners were net buyers of long-term U.S. securities in October, according to the monthly Treasury International Capital report, known as TIC.

China's net holdings fell $14.2 billion to $1.134 trillion, following net buying of more than $11.3 billion in September. Analysts caution the data may not reflect the full spectrum of China's activity in the market, however. For example, Treasury earlier this year adjusted its estimation of China's holding based on use of proxies in other countries. Also, the net figure is a sum of the short and long-term activities.

Japan, meanwhile continued to be a heavy net buyer of Treasurys, accumulating them at record levels. Japan remained the second-largest holder of Treasurys, lifting its holdings to $979.0 billion from $956.8 billion in September.