Foreign ownership of US debt slips again in May

WASHINGTON (AP) — Foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury securities fell for the second straight month in May.

The Treasury Department says total foreign holdings dropped 0.5 percent to $6.21 trillion after slipping 0.8 percent to $6.24 trillion in April.

Japan, the second-biggest foreign owner of Treasury securities, reduced its holdings by 0.8 percent to $1.13 trillion. China, the biggest foreign investor in Treasurys, increased its holdings slightly to $1.24 trillion.

The national debt is nearly $19.4 trillion and is expected to grow, which means the United States will need foreigners to keep buying Treasury securities.

Of the debt total, nearly $14 trillion is publicly traded on financial markets. The rest is money the government owes itself, including holdings in the Social Security trust fund.

WASHINGTON (AP)
July 19, 2016