US Treasury Department: In April, overseas purchases of US securities amounted to $103 billion, while holdings of US bonds increased by $3.9 billion. China's holdings of US bonds hit a new low since 2008.

The U.S. Treasury Department said in its monthly release of the Treasury International Capital (TIC) report on Thursday that foreign investors were expected to purchase $103 billion in U.S. long-term securities in April; at the same time, their holdings of U.S. Treasury securities increased by $3.9 billion. Foreign holdings of U.S. Treasuries dropped significantly by more than $138 billion in March. The report shows that among the largest holders of U.S. Treasuries: - Japan's holdings increased from $1.19 trillion in March to $1.21 trillion in April, an increase of $18.3 billion - The United Kingdom's holdings increased from $926.9 billion to $937.5 billion, an increase of $10.6 billion - China's holdings decreased slightly from $652.3 billion to $651.1 billion, reaching a new low since 2008. In terms of net transactions, foreign investors sold a net $13.6 billion in short-term Treasury securities maturing in less than one year, while buying a net $50.5 billion in long-term U.S. Treasuries. The increase in Treasury holdings brought the total foreign holdings to $9.353 trillion, higher than in March but lower than the historical record of $9.49 trillion set in February. Foreign investors incurred an unrealized loss of approximately $39 billion in their long-term U.S. Treasury holdings in April due to valuation changes. At the time of this report's release, the Fed is still wrestling with inflation, while AI-related stocks continue to drive the bull market in the U.S., with the market closely watching overseas demand for U.S. Treasuries. On Thursday, the market favored the 5-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) issued by the U.S., reflecting to some extent an increase in "real interest rates" post-inflation adjustment in the TIPS market in recent weeks. The Treasury Department stated that the total net inflow of all foreign assets in April (i.e., TIC net inflow of funds) was $26.1 billion. Of this, foreign private net outflows were $23.1 billion, while foreign official net inflows were $49.2 billion. The Treasury Department also added that foreign residents increased their holdings of U.S. long-term securities in April, with a net inflow of $206 billion. Among them, net inflows from foreign private investors were $164.4 billion, while net inflows from foreign official institutions were $41.6 billion. This article is reprinted from Wall Street News, written by Yang Chen; GMTEight editor: Wenwen.