Reply #128: Foreign Banks (particularly Asia) own 1/4 of all marketable US securities [View All]

[UpInArms]

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-02-16T213013Z_01_NYG000135_RTRIDST_0_ECONOMY-FED-FOREIGNERS-URGENT.XML

NEW YORK, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Foreign central banks were huge buyers of U.S. debt in the latest week, purchasing large amounts of both Treasury and agency securities during the week of the Treasury Department's $48 billion quarterly refunding, Federal Reserve data showed on Thursday.

The Fed said its overall holdings of Treasury and agency debt kept for overseas central banks shot up by $25.778 billion in the week ended Feb. 15, to stand at $1.571 trillion.

The breakdown of custody holdings showed overseas central banks buying $14.281 billion in Treasury debt and $11.497 billion in securities from government-sponsored agencies like Fannie Mae (FNM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Freddie Mac (FRE.N: Quote, Profile, Research).

Overseas central banks, particularly those in Asia, have been huge buyers of U.S. debt in recent years, and now own over a quarter of marketable Treasuries.

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