Your Economy (No Politics)

[Bullwinkle]

Foreigners Record Net Purchases of U.S. Securities Totaling $89.1 Billion in November
January 18, 2006 - 11:54:00


WASHINGTON (AP) - Foreigners recorded net purchases of U.S. securities totaling $89.1 billion in November, according to the latest data from the Treasury Department.

November's net buying was less than October's all-time record monthly level of foreign net purchases of U.S. securities at $104.2 billion, previously reported as $106.8 billion, the Treasury said Wednesday in its monthly international capital report.

Foreigners' net buying of U.S. securities in November was greater than the reported U.S. November deficit of $64.2 billion.

Net foreign buying of U.S. securities in November was somewhat higher than Wall Street expectations. The median forecast of six analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires was $82.5 billion during the month, moderating from record-highs reached the previous two months.

The overall net monthly figure in the Treasury report includes foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury debt, agency debt, U.S. stocks and U.S. corporate bonds, as well as the effect of foreign securities sold to and bought from U.S. investors.

The monthly report is considered a rough indicator of capital flows, as it excludes cross-border flows such as short-term debt instruments, foreign direct investment and stock swaps.

Foreign net purchases of U.S. Treasury notes and bonds totaled $54.6 billion in November, an all-time record high that was up from $30 billion the previous month, Treasury said.

Within the foreign purchases of Treasury notes and bonds, private foreign investors bought a net $50.8 billion in November, also an all-time record and up from net purchases of $24.7 billion the previous month.

Foreign official institutions purchased a net $3.7 billion of Treasury notes and bonds in November, down from $4.9 billion in October. International and regional organizations purchased a net $71 million of Treasurys in November, compared with net purchases of $432 million the previous month.

Net foreign purchases of U.S. agency debt totaled $9 billion in November, down from $34.9 billion in net purchases in October.

For U.S. equities, net foreign purchases totaled $4.7 billion in November, compared with $8 billion in net purchases the previous month.

Foreigners recorded $35 billion in net foreign purchases of corporate bonds in November, up slightly from $34.5 billion in October.

Net foreign equities and bonds purchased by U.S. residents, which affects the overall net inflow figure, was $14.1 billion in November, up from $3.1 billion the previous month.

Total foreign holdings of Treasury bills, notes and bonds was $2.174 trillion in November, the report said, up from $2.102 trillion in October.

Foreign official holdings of Treasury bills, notes and bonds rose to $1.258 trillion in November from $1.239 trillion the month before.

Japan remained the largest holder of U.S. Treasury securities. Its holdings rose in November to $682.8 billion from $681.7 billion in October.

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