Japan Buys US Treasuries; China Sells

choi

Floyd Norris, As the US Borrows, Who Lends?  China isn't buying Treasuries. Neither is the Federal Reserve. So who is?  New York Times, Sept 22, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/2 ... rows-who-lends.html

Quote:

"Estimates by the Treasury Department released this week indicated that over the 12 months through July, China reduced its position in Treasury securities by $165 billion, cutting them to $1.15 trillion despite making a small amount of purchases in July. And the Federal Reserve reported that, as of Wednesday, it owned $1.65 trillion in Treasury securities, $17 billion less than it had owned a year earlier.

"China’s selling of Treasuries over the 12-month period was offset by the actions of Japan, another country whose trade surplus with the United States remains large. The Japanese are estimated to have increased their holdings by $232 billion over the 12 months, to $1.12 trillion. Those figures include both government and private holders of Treasuries.

Note: The short answer is Japan.