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http://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-REB-32560
China Retakes Top Spot as the Biggest Foreign Owner of U.S. Debt
By IAN TALLEY
A Chinese bank clerk shows off Japanese Yen notes among stacks of yuan notes.
Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
It was a short-lived domination. After just a month of being the top holder*of U.S. Treasury debt, Japan has once again been pushed into the No.2 slot as China bulked up on Uncle Sam’s bonds and notes.
As we noted last month*– and several times before that*– Treasury’s data is a rough guesstimate. That makes it hard for analysts sifting through the obscure sheaves of digital data to glean anything but rough trends. It also makes it difficult to draw precise conclusions.
February data published last month raised questions about whether Japan really did overtake China as the No.1 holder of American debt, as different tables revealed conflicting results.
But in this month’s release of March data, released late Friday, the tables (here, here,*here, here and here) all tell the same story: China is the top holder.
China Retakes Top Spot as the Biggest Foreign Owner of U.S. Debt
By IAN TALLEY
A Chinese bank clerk shows off Japanese Yen notes among stacks of yuan notes.
Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
It was a short-lived domination. After just a month of being the top holder*of U.S. Treasury debt, Japan has once again been pushed into the No.2 slot as China bulked up on Uncle Sam’s bonds and notes.
As we noted last month*– and several times before that*– Treasury’s data is a rough guesstimate. That makes it hard for analysts sifting through the obscure sheaves of digital data to glean anything but rough trends. It also makes it difficult to draw precise conclusions.
February data published last month raised questions about whether Japan really did overtake China as the No.1 holder of American debt, as different tables revealed conflicting results.
But in this month’s release of March data, released late Friday, the tables (here, here,*here, here and here) all tell the same story: China is the top holder.
