Thanks to the resurgence in the United States’ economy (consecutive quarters of positive GDP growth + the surge in equity markets since March 2009 lows), coupled with the current fiscal crisis engulfing the European Union, global investors – governments and organizations – are increasingly flocking to U.S. financial assets as a safe haven. Here are some stats from a recent Bloomberg article:
- Total foreign purchases of U.S. treasury notes and bonds were $108.5 billion in March 2010, up from $48.1 billion in February
- China increased its holdings of U.S. debt (treasuries), by 2 percent, to $895.2 billion in March
- Japan, the second-largest investor in U.S. debt, increased its holdings by $16.4 billion to $784.9 billion in March
- The U.K. increased its holdings by $45.5 billion to $279 billion
- The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)’s holdings rose to $229.5 billion, an increase of $10.7 billion
- Russia increased the amount of dollars in its currency reserves to 44.5 percent, up from 41.5 percent
- Finally, foreign demand for U.S. agency debt, those issued by organizations such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, resulted in net purchases of $22 billion in March, the biggest gain since June 2008
All data are as of March 2010
Sources: U.S. Treasury, Bloomberg, BusinessWeek
Abraham Tiamiyu