By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Foreign holdings of U.S. Treasuries soared to another all-time peak in December, data from the Treasury Department showed on Thursday, rising for a second straight month.
Holdings of U.S. Treasuries rose to $8.06 trillion in December, from what was then a record high of $7.808 trillion in November. Compared with a year earlier, Treasuries held by foreigners expanded by 10.5%.
The increased buying of Treasuries continued a trend of the last few months, after yields dropped as the market priced in interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
The three largest holders of Treasuries -- Japan, China and the UK -- led the purchase U.S. government debt.
Japanese investors raised their stash of Treasuries to $1.138 trillion in December, from $1.127 trillion in November, data showed. Their holdings were the largest since August 2022.
Japan remains the largest non-U.S. holder of U.S. government debt.
China's holdings of Treasuries rose to $816.3 billion, up $34.3 billion from $782 billion held in November. China's load of Treasuries rose for a second straight month. Before that, China's Treasury holdings had declined for seven straight months. In October last year, China's holding dropped to $763.5 billion, the lowest since March 2009.
The UK, meanwhile, listed its Treasury holdings at $753.7 billion in December, a record high.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield started November at 4.22%, ending the month at 3.86%, down 36 basis points. The decline in yields coincided with the pivot by the Fed to a neutral stance from a tightening bias.
Data further showed that major U.S. asset classes showed inflows during the month.
On a transaction basis, U.S. Treasuries posted inflows of $33.8 billion, from a revised $72.4 billion in November.
U.S. equities showed inflows of $79.7 billion in December, sharply up from an outflow of $200 million in the previous month.
Foreign buying of U.S. corporates and agencies in November continued, with inflows of $23.8 billion and $4.6 billion, respectively.
Overall, net foreign acquisitions of long-term and short-term securities, as well as banking flows, showed a net inflow of $139.8 billion in December, down from a revised $223.3 billion posted in November, according to U.S. Treasury data.