Foreign investors held $9.30 trillion of U.S. Treasury securities at the end of June 2026, down $72.1 billion from May, the Treasury Department reported on Monday, August 17. China cut its position to $633.4 billion from $659.3 billion. Japan, still the largest foreign creditor, trimmed $26.4 billion to $1.117 trillion, and the United Kingdom shed $8.7 billion to $939.9 billion. Those three sold a combined $61.0 billion in a single month.
The drop is small against the size of the market. Foreign holdings still equal 23.6% of the $39.46 trillion the government owed on June 30 and 29.4% of the $31.68 trillion held by the public, and they sit $205.4 billion above their June 2025 level. What changed was the mix. Money left Asia and arrived in Canada, up $23.8 billion, and Belgium, up $10.5 billion. See the full ownership breakdown on our who owns U.S. debt page.
Treasury put net foreign purchases of long-term U.S. securities at $172.7 billion for the month after adjustments, so appetite for American paper stayed positive even as official institutions sold Treasury notes and bonds. None of it moved short-term consumer pricing. The prime rate held at 6.75% and the effective federal funds rate at 3.63%, both anchored by a Federal Open Market Committee that does not meet again until September 15 and 16.
- Foreign holdings of Treasury securities fell $72.1 billion in June to $9.30 trillion.
- China cut to $633.4 billion, the smallest total in Treasury’s current 13 month table.
- Japan trimmed $26.4 billion to $1.117 trillion and stayed the largest foreign holder.
- Foreigners still own 23.6% of the $39.46 trillion of federal debt outstanding on June 30.
- Prime held at 6.75%. The next holdings report is scheduled for September 16.
What the June TIC Report Measured
The Treasury International Capital system counts securities, not sentiment. Each month Treasury and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York collect custody reports from banks, brokers and custodians, then publish holdings by the country where the custodian sits. The June table shows a grand total of $9,299.0 billion against $9,371.1 billion in May, a decline of 0.8%. That is the stock of Treasury debt sitting in foreign accounts on June 30, marked at market value. It is not a record of who bought or sold during the month, because price moves change the reported total even when nobody trades a bond.
Treasury publishes the transactions separately, and those tell the cleaner story. Foreign residents bought a net $207.1 billion of long-term U.S. securities in June, split between $169.8 billion from private investors and $37.3 billion from official institutions. After adjustments for items such as stock swaps, Treasury put overall net foreign purchases of long-term securities at $172.7 billion. Inside that figure, private investors added $16.6 billion of Treasury notes and bonds while foreign official institutions sold $9.8 billion. Counting short-term securities and banking flows, the total net inflow reached $133.5 billion. Demand held. The composition moved toward private hands.
Japan, the U.K. and China Did the Selling
Japan remains the largest foreign owner of Treasury debt at $1,116.7 billion, and its position has now fallen for four straight months from a February peak of $1,239.3 billion, a reduction of $122.6 billion. Domestic yields explain much of it. When Japanese government bonds pay more, the currency hedged return on U.S. paper narrows and life insurers rotate capital home.
China’s $633.4 billion is the smallest total in the 13 months Treasury shows in its current major holders table, and the direction has been consistent for years. Treasury’s historical series puts Chinese holdings at $1,033.8 billion in January 2022 and $859.4 billion in January 2023. Reuters, reviewing the longer record, reported the June figure as China’s lowest since September 2008. A year ago the total was $731.4 billion, so the twelve month reduction comes to $98.0 billion.
The United Kingdom’s $939.9 billion overstates British ownership. London is a custody center, so holdings booked there include funds domiciled elsewhere. The same caveat applies to Belgium at $482.5 billion, the Cayman Islands at $453.1 billion and Luxembourg at $434.2 billion. Canada was the month’s largest buyer, adding $23.8 billion to reach $459.6 billion.
Why $9.3 Trillion Still Buys the Government Time
Foreign ownership matters because it sets how much of the federal borrowing calendar has to be absorbed at home. Treasury offered roughly $125 billion of notes and bonds in the August refunding alone, and the government owed $39.99 trillion on August 17, within $13.4 billion of the $40 trillion mark. Every dollar a foreign central bank declines to roll over has to be taken by a domestic pension fund, a bank, a money market fund or a household, and those buyers set a price. That price shows up in yields. The 30-year Treasury closed at 5.31% on August 17, its highest since June 2007, and the 10-year at 4.72%.
The June numbers do not describe a buyers’ strike. Foreign holdings remain $205.4 billion above their June 2025 level and net purchases of long-term securities were positive on the month. What they describe is a slow rotation. Official institutions, meaning central banks and sovereign funds, trimmed Treasury notes and bonds while private foreign investors added to them. Official money is comparatively price insensitive and sticky. Private money is neither, and it asks for more yield as the supply calendar grows. The average rate Treasury pays across all interest-bearing debt hit 3.447% on July 31, and each refinancing at current levels pushes that figure higher.
What This Means for the Rates You Pay
None of this touches the rate on a credit card statement next month. Variable card APRs are quoted as the prime rate plus a fixed margin, and prime moves only when the Federal Open Market Committee changes its target range. Prime has stood at 6.75% through the summer and held after the July 29 decision, when policymakers voted 9 to 3 to leave the range at 3.50% to 3.75%. Home equity lines and most variable rate personal loans use the same reference. Our consumer credit rates page tracks where those products actually sit.
Mortgages are the channel that does respond. Lenders price 30-year loans off the 10-year Treasury and the mortgage bond market that trades alongside it, so sustained foreign selling at the long end feeds into rate sheets within days. The 30-year fixed average was 6.67% in the week ending August 13. Savers see the mirror image. While long yields hold above 5%, multi-year certificates of deposit and Treasuries bought at auction lock in a level the Fed cannot revoke later. Compare current mortgage rates and best CD rates ahead of the September meeting.
If you are choosing between a savings account and a certificate of deposit, notice which end of the curve prices each one. Savings and money market yields track the federal funds rate, which the FOMC has held at 3.50% to 3.75% since July. CD and Treasury yields track the longer maturities that foreign investors are repricing right now. With the 30-year at 5.31%, terms of three years and out are paying for patience in a way that overnight money is not.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much of the U.S. national debt do foreign countries hold?
Foreign investors held $9.30 trillion of U.S. Treasury securities at the end of June 2026, according to Treasury’s International Capital data released August 17. That equals 23.6% of the $39.46 trillion of federal debt outstanding on June 30 and 29.4% of the $31.68 trillion held by the public.
What countries are selling off U.S. Treasuries?
In June 2026 the three largest foreign holders all reduced their positions. Japan cut $26.4 billion, China cut $25.9 billion and the United Kingdom cut $8.7 billion, a combined $61.0 billion. The Cayman Islands fell $18.2 billion and France fell $3.2 billion. Buying went the other way in Canada, up $23.8 billion, and Belgium, up $10.5 billion. Treasury reports custody location rather than beneficial owner, so a country line can move when a fund shifts custodian without any bond changing hands.
Which countries hold the most U.S. Treasury bonds?
Japan ranks first at $1,116.7 billion as of June 30, 2026, followed by the United Kingdom at $939.9 billion and China at $633.4 billion. Belgium holds $482.5 billion, Canada $459.6 billion, the Cayman Islands $453.1 billion and Luxembourg $434.2 billion. Several of those are financial centers where foreign funds custody assets, so the figures overstate domestic ownership in Britain, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Caymans. Treasury updates the ranking monthly with a reporting lag of about six weeks.
What percentage of U.S. Treasuries are owned by foreigners?
About 23.6% of all federal debt outstanding sat in foreign hands on June 30, 2026, measuring Treasury’s $9.30 trillion holdings figure against $39.46 trillion of total debt. Against debt held by the public, which strips out the $7.78 trillion the government owes its own trust funds, the share rises to 29.4%. Both readings have drifted lower over the past decade as the debt grew faster than foreign appetite. Domestic banks, pension funds, mutual funds and households absorb the rest.
Does foreign selling of Treasuries raise my mortgage rate?
Indirectly, and only through the long end of the curve. Mortgage rates track the 10-year Treasury and the mortgage bond market rather than the federal funds rate, so sustained foreign selling that lifts long yields does reach lender rate sheets within days. The 10-year closed at 4.72% on August 17 and the 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 6.67% in the week ending August 13. Credit cards, home equity lines and most variable rate personal loans follow the prime rate instead, and prime held at 6.75%.
When does the next foreign holdings report come out?
Treasury has scheduled the July 2026 Treasury International Capital release for September 16, 2026, according to the notice at the end of the June release. The data arrive with a lag of roughly six weeks, and the major foreign holders table updates the same afternoon. That release lands one day into the Federal Open Market Committee meeting of September 15 and 16, so the holdings figures and the rate decision reach markets in the same week.
Watching the September 16 Release
Two questions carry into the next report: whether Japan’s four month slide continues, and whether official institutions keep trimming notes and bonds while private buyers step up. July data arrive September 16, one day into the FOMC meeting. Between now and then the federal debt is likely to cross $40 trillion, a threshold that enlarges the pile someone has to hold. Follow the running total on our national debt page, the cost on our interest on the national debt page, and the policy path on our Fed rate forecast page.
References
- U.S. Treasury. “Major Foreign Holders of Treasury Securities,” June 2026. ticdata.treasury.gov
- U.S. Treasury. “Treasury International Capital Data for June,” August 17, 2026. home.treasury.gov
- U.S. Treasury. “Treasury International Capital (TIC) System.” home.treasury.gov
- Bureau of the Fiscal Service. “Debt to the Penny,” record dates June 30 and August 17, 2026. fiscaldata.treasury.gov
- Bureau of the Fiscal Service. “Average Interest Rates on U.S. Treasury Securities,” July 31, 2026. fiscaldata.treasury.gov
- FRED. “Treasury Constant Maturity Rates (DGS10, DGS30),” August 17, 2026. fred.stlouisfed.org
- FRED. “Bank Prime Loan Rate (DPRIME),” August 2026. fred.stlouisfed.org
- FRED. “30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage Average (MORTGAGE30US),” week ending August 13, 2026. fred.stlouisfed.org
- Federal Reserve Board. “FOMC Calendars, Statements, and Minutes.” federalreserve.gov
- Reuters. “Foreign holdings of US Treasuries fall in June, led by Japan, UK, China, data shows,” August 17, 2026. reuters.com
