China Owned $1.13 Trillion+ in US Debt in October

Foreign holders of US debt reduced their holdings in October for the first time since July.

According to the Treasury Department, foreign entities held a total of $4.6563 trillion in US Treasury Securities in October, down slightly from September. As mentioned, this was the first overall decline in total foreign holdings since this summer.

Let's take a quick look at the top five foreign holders of US debt in October and how their positions changed from the previous month:

China - $1.134 trillion, -1.24%
Japan - $979.0 billion, +2.32%
United Kingdom - $408.4 billion, -3.13%
Oil Exporters - $226.2 billion, -1.61%
All Other - $217.3 billion, +2.74%

Now let's look at how these positions have changed over the past year:

China, -3.51%
Japan, +12.07%
United Kingdom, +95.41%
Oil Exporters, +8.85%
All Other, -6.38%

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Foreigners have continued to maintain their ravenous appetite for US debt over the past 12 months, increasing their total holdings from $4.373 trillion to $4.656 trillion.

Here is the complete list of the top 10 foreign holders of US debt as of October:

China, $1.134 trillion
Japan, $979.0 billion
United Kingdom, $408.4 billion
Oil Exporters, $226.2 billion
All Other, $217.3 billion
Brazil, $209.1 billion
Caribbean Banking Centers, $175.2 billion
Taiwan, $150.1 billion
Switzerland, $131.7 billion
Hong Kong, $110.7 billion

Source: Largest Foreign Holders of US Debt, October 2011