By Alden Bentley
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Foreign holdings of U.S. Treasuries hit a record in May, the Treasury Department reported on Thursday, while a decline in Japan’s huge stockpile closely coincided with what appeared to be the start of intervention to support its currency.
Holdings of U.S. Treasuries rose to $8.129 trillion in May from a revised $8.04 trillion in April.
Treasury International Capital System (TICS) data showed that the sum total of all net foreign acquisitions of long-term securities and banking flows was a net inflow of $15.8 billion, comprised of $7.3 billion of private inflows and $8.6 billion of net foreign official inflows.
U.S. Treasuries firmed in May, easing yields lower as investors anticipated the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates this year. The expected time frame for easing was pushed back as the Fed said it would wait to pivot until inflation came more in line.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury…
