Foreign central banks' U.S. debt holdings rise: Fe

Foreign central banks' U.S. debt holdings rise: Fed
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/25/us-usa-fed-foreign ers-idUSBRE93O1BH20130425

NEW YORK | Thu Apr 25, 2013 4:48pm EDT
(Reuters) - Foreign central banks' overall holdings of U.S. marketable securities at the Federal Reserve rose in the latest week, data from the U.S. central bank showed on Thursday.

The Fed said its holdings of U.S. securities kept for overseas central banks rose $13.5 billion in the week ended April 24, to stand at $3.3 trillion.

The breakdown of custody holdings showed overseas central banks' holdings of Treasury debt fell by $2.6 billion to stand at $3.0 trillion.

Foreign institutions' holdings of securities issued or guaranteed by the biggest U.S. mortgage financing agencies, including Fannie Mae (FNMA.OB) and Freddie Mac (FMCC.OB), rose by $16 billion to stand at $314.2 billion.

The Fed said its holdings of so-called "other" securities held in custody and reported at face value rose by $276 million to stand at $38.4 billion. These securities include non-marketable U.S. Treasury securities, supranationals, corporate bonds, asset-backed securities and commercial paper.

Overseas central banks, particularly those in Asia, have been huge buyers of U.S. debt in recent years and own more than a quarter of marketable Treasuries. China and Japan are the biggest foreign holders of Treasuries.

The full Fed report can be found on: here

(Reporting By Daniel Bases; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)