Overview
- The U.S. Treasury's April TIC report showed foreign investors bought an estimated $103 billion of long-term U.S. securities and raised foreign Treasury holdings by $4 billion to $9.353 trillion.
- Total net TIC flows in April were a $26.1 billion inflow driven by $49.2 billion of net official (central bank) purchases that more than offset $23.1 billion of net private investor outflows.
- Foreign residents increased holdings of long-term U.S. securities by $206 billion in April, with private investors accounting for $164.4 billion and foreign official institutions $41.6 billion.
- Country-level shifts included Japan raising its Treasury holdings to $1.21 trillion and the United Kingdom to $938 billion while China’s holdings edged down to about $651 billion.
- The pattern matters for U.S. borrowing costs because official buying helps finance deficits and may limit upward pressure on yields as the Fed combats inflation and real rates rise, a trend reflected in strong demand at a recent TIPS auction.