国际英语新闻:Foreign holdings of U.S. debt hit record high in June

WASHINGTON, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Total foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury securities rose to a new high in June, indicating strong international demand for U.S. government debt amid the simmering eurozone debt crisis, the U.S. Treasury Department reported Wednesday.

In June, overall foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury securities reached 5.2923 trillion U.S. dollars, up from the revised 5.2581 trillion dollars in May. It was the sixth consecutive monthly increase.

According to the Treasury International capital report, China, the largest foreign holder of U.S. Treasury securities, slightly boosted its holdings by 0.3 billion dollars from May to 1.1643 trillion dollars in June.

Japan, the second largest foreign holder of U.S. government debt, increased its holdings from 1.1089 trillion dollars to 1.1193 trillion dollars.

The strong demand of U.S. government debt is key to funding its mounting deficit, which is forecast to surpass 1 trillion dollars for the fourth consecutive fiscal year.