(Yicai) April 17 -- The three largest creditors to the United States -- Japan, China, and the United Kingdom -- all increased their holdings of US government bonds in February.

China’s holdings of US Treasury bonds rose by USD23.5 billion to USD784.3 billion in February from the previous month, according to data released yesterday by the US treasury department. The country has held less than USD1 trillion of Treasuries since April 2022.

China, which is the US’ second-largest creditor, swelled its stash of Treasuries three times last year, in April, June, and November, while it trimmed them in the other nine months. This January, it increased them by USD1.8 billion.

Japan, the US’ largest creditor, added USD46.6 billion to its holdings, taking them to USD1.1259 trillion, while the UK raised its haul by USD10.1 billion to USD750.3 billion.

The net inflow of short- and long-term US securities and bank flows stood at USD284.7 billion in February, of which about USD55.4 billion were inflows of official funds, and USD229.3 billion were inflows of foreign private funds, the department’s data also showed.

Editor: Futura Costaglione