China reduced its holdings of US government debt by the largest margin in nearly nine years in June, according to data from the US Treasury.
China holds more US government debt than any other country and cut its holdings of US securities by more that 3% in June, said the BBC’s Chris Hogg.
Japan and the UK – second and third largest holders of US debt – increased their holdings over the same period.
China’s holding of US debt is about 7% higher than at the turn of the year.
Inflation fear
In recent months the US government’s budget deficit has widened thanks in part to the Obama administration’s costly stimulus plan.
Our correspondent in Shanghai says that China is worried about this, and fears the stimulus efforts will fuel inflation in the US, reducing the value of the dollar.
This would then erode the value of the debt China holds in the US currency.
In June, China cut its holdings of US securities by about $25bn, a fall of 3.1%.
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