Foreign purchases of long term US assets exploded higher in Nov by $127b, well above expectations of $25b and were led by net purchases of US Treasuries totaling $118b, an all time record high for one month. Buying from the UK, which could have been foreign central banks and/or hedge funds purchasing US debt thru UK based banks, led the way, increasing net purchases by $47.4b. Japan, the 2nd biggest foreign holder, was the 2nd biggest buyer, at $11.4B. The Chinese however were net sellers by $9.3b and their long term holdings are at the lowest since June. Net purchases of GSE bonds rose by $5.9b following net selling of $5.4b in Oct. Selling of corporate bonds totaled $4.6b and foreigners have been net sellers for 7 of the last 8 months but they keep buying US stocks as purchases totaled $9.7b and have been buyers ever since the March low. US investors were net buyers of foreign bonds but sellers of foreign stocks.
What's been said:
Discussions found on the web: