China Total holding of US Treasuries: $755.4B v $789.6B prior

Japan Total Holdings of US Treasuries: $768.8B v $757.3B prior 
Oil Exporters total Holdings of US Treasuries: $186.8B v $187.7B prior 
Brazil holdings of US Treasuries $160.6B v $157.1B prior 
Russia holdings of US Treasuries $118.5B v $128.1B prior 
Hong Kong holdings of US Treasuries $152.9B v $146.2B prior 
India holdings of US Treasuries: $29.6B v $31.6B prior

WASHINGTON (AP) — 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.

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.

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.[…]

[…] The Obama administration on Feb. 1 released a new budget plan which projects that the deficit for this year will total a record $1.56 trillion, surpassing last year’s record of $1.4 trillion deficit. The trillion-dollar-plus deficit have been caused by a deep recession, which has reduced government tax receipts, and the massive spending that has been undertaken to jump-start the economy and stabilize the financial system.

The administration has pledged to begin addressing the huge government deficits with Obama saying he will soon appoint a commission to recommend ways to trim future deficits.

Overall, the Treasury Department said that foreign net purchases of long-term securities totaled $63.3 billion in December, down from $126.4 billion in November. This category covers Treasury securities and private company bonds.[…]