Treasury Releases Data on U.S. Holdings of Foreign Securities

Treasury released preliminary data from an annual survey of U.S. portfolio holdings of foreign securities at year-end 2009.  Final survey results, which will include additional detail as well as revisions to the data, will be reported on October 29, 2010.  The survey was undertaken jointly by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. 

A complementary survey measuring foreign holdings of U.S. securities also is conducted annually.  Data from the most recent such survey, which reports on securities held on June 30, 2010, are currently being processed. Preliminary results are expected to be reported on February 28, 2011.

The survey measured U.S. holdings at year-end 2009 of approximately $6.0 trillion, with $4.0 trillion held in foreign equities, $1.6 trillion in foreign long-term debt securities (original term-to-maturity in excess of one year), and $0.4 trillion held in foreign short-term debt securities.  The previous such survey, conducted as of year-end 2008, measured U.S. holdings of $4.3 trillion, with $2.7 trillion held in foreign equities, $1.3 trillion in foreign long-term debt securities and $0.3 trillion held in foreign short-term debt securities.