Russian holdings of U.S. debt increased by $748 million to around $10 billion in September, the U.S. Department of the Treasury said on Monday, according to Interfax.
In April 2018, against the backdrop of tough U.S. sanctions, Russian investments in U.S. Treasuries almost halved – from $96.1 billion to $48.7 billion. In May 2018, the figure fell more than three times, to $14.9 billion. In 2015, Russian investments in U.S. Treasuries exceeded $150 billion.
In August, Russian holdings of U.S. debt increased for the first time since February, reaching $9.3 billion.
Japan remained the largest holder of U.S. debt in September for the fourth consecutive month, despite a reduction in investment by $28.9 billion to $1.146 trillion. China, in second place, also reduced its portfolio of U.S. Treasuries – by $1.1 billion, up to $1.02 trillion, the Treasury said.
The third place was occupied by Great Britain ($346.2 billion), Brazil is 4th ($ 301.2 billion), followed by Ireland ($274.1 billion). The top 10 U.S. Treasuries holders also include Luxembourg, the Cayman Islands, Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Belgium.
The total volume of non-residents’ investments in U.S. Treasuries in September decreased by $84.3 million and amounted to almost $7 trillion.
Earlier this month Treasury data showed the U.S. federal government’s outstanding public debt has surpassed $23 trillion for the first time in history.
Growing budget deficits have added to the nation’s debt at a speedy rate since President Trump took office. The debt has grown some 16 percent since Trump’s inauguration when it stood at $19.9 trillion. It passed $22 trillion for the first time just 10 months ago.
