In March, the scale of overseas investors holding U.S. Treasury bonds decreased, while the UK increased its holdings against the trend

[Caixin] As the Middle East conflict drags on and U.S. Treasury yields rise, the scale of U.S. Treasury bonds held by overseas investors has decreased month-on-month.

The latest data released by the U.S. Department of the Treasury shows that as of March 2026, the overseas holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds totaled $9.35 trillion, down $138.4 billion from the previous month; among them, the U.S. Treasury bonds held by foreign official reserves amounted to $3.9 trillion, a decrease of $108.7 billion, accounting for nearly 80% of the decline in U.S. debt holdings that month.

Specifically, holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds by investors from Japan, China, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other countries have decreased. Among the countries/regions that published data separately, only five saw an increase in U.S. debt holdings at the end of March, with the United Kingdom experiencing the largest increase, adding nearly $30 billion.

Changes in bond valuations may be one of the reasons for the apparent data fluctuations. On the night of February 27, U.S. Eastern Time, since the U.S. and Israel declared war on Iran, U.S. Treasury yields have risen across the board. Because bonds are generally issued at a fixed face value, bond yields and their trading valuations tend to move inversely. Taking the 10-year Treasury as an example, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond at the end of March 2026 was 4.32%, up about 40 basis points (BP) from the end of February, which is equivalent to a 9% “devaluation” of bond prices.