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<\/a><\/p>\nFrom WSJ.com<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Japan overtook China to become the world’s biggest foreign holder of U.S. Treasury debt in December, reclaiming the mantle for the first time in more than a year, according to Treasury Department data released Tuesday.<\/p>\n China shed more than $34 billion in long-and-short-term Treasury debt in December, while Japan added $11.5 billion, according to the monthly Treasury International Capital report, known as TIC. That left Japan’s Treasury holdings at $768.8 billion and China’s at $755.4 billion, the first time since September 2008 that Japan has owned more U.S. government debt than China.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In the chart below it is clearly noticeable that China has been backing off lately.<\/p>\n From AP<\/a>:<\/p>\n The government said Tuesday that foreign demand for U.S. Treasury securities fell by the largest amount on record in December with China reducing its holdings by $34.2 billion.<\/p>\n The reductions in holdings, if they continue, could force the government to make higher interest payments at a time that it is running record federal deficits.<\/p>\n The Treasury Department reported that foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury securities fell by $53 billion in December, surpassing the previous record of a $44.5 billion drop in April 2009.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n