China Slashes US Bond Holdings by $25 Billion

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Mike Larson notes:
The U.S. Treasury Department revealed that China actually REDUCED its note and bond holdings by $25 billion in June. Although China did NOT sell shorter-term Treasury bills — and isn’t expected to — it’s still the largest amount of Treasuries China has ever sold in a single month.

This is a huge development:

• In 2006, China and Hong Kong accounted for more than 50 percent of the increase in the amount of Treasury debt sold to the public …

• In 2008, their share had fallen to 22 percent as the U.S. government increased its public debt by a record $1.2 trillion …

• In the first half of THIS year, China and Hong Kong acquired only 9 percent of the more than $800 billion worth of Treasury bonds that were sold — and now …

• In June, China became a net SELLER of U.S. Treasury notes and bond

One of Washington’s most dependable sources of loans to finance our out-of-control deficits is drying up. Demand for longer-term Treasuries is softening.