Foreign demand for US government debt accelerated in December, with hedge fund purchases offsetting further selling of Treasuries by China and Russia, according to the latest official figures.
A Treasury report on Tuesday showed foreign demand for US securities, including bonds and equities, rose to $48.2bn in December, up from $35.6bn in November and $17.2bn in October. The rise was driven by private investors, while official accounts, or foreign central banks, sold US assets for the second successive month.
US Treasuries with maturities of more than a year recorded inflows of $55bn in December, but short-term bills suffered a $37bn fall, after November’s $32bn drop.