Update (June 20) – I added a section at the end of the post with information on specific countries. Also, the data shown here combines cross-border transactions in both U.S. and foreign long-term securities (I may not have made this clear enough in the initial post). Further, foreigners’ net purchases of -$64 billion in the most recent period (Feb. 2013 through Apr. 2013) are explained mostly by foreign stocks. Foreigners sold a net total of $62 billion of non-U.S. stocks to U.S. residents.
There was plenty to puzzle over in last week’s Treasury International Capital (TIC) report, which reveals cross-border financial flows for April.
I showed on Friday that net foreign sales of U.S. Treasuries (bonds, notes and bills) totaled $69.6 billion, shattering the previous record of $28.1 billion. I also showed that Japan’s Treasury holdings fell by $61 billion after last October, which was roughly the same time that Abenomics was hatched and the Japanese stock market took flight.
But that’s not all.
