Saudi holdings of US Treasuries rise by $2.4bn in July

CAIRO: Saudi Arabia’s holdings of US Treasury bonds rose by $2.4 billion in July compared to June 2022, the US Treasury data showed.
It indicated that the Saudi holdings of the bonds increased to $121.6 billion in July as compared to $119.2 billion the previous month. The data showed that the month-on-month rise in US Treasuries had been the highest since September 2021.
The Kingdom ranked 16th globally in the list of the largest investors in US Treasury bonds by the end of July, while Japan topped the list with a total of $1.234 trillion, followed by China with investments worth $970 billion.
However, the Saudi holdings increased nominally than the previous month when it jumped by $4.5 billion month-on-month.
Since the beginning of 2022, Saudi holdings of the US Treasuries have been fluctuating. It rose by $0.4 billion in January, fell by $2.7 billion in February, went down by $1.2 billion in March, moved up by $0.2 billion in April, and again fell by $0.1 billion in May, and proceeded to rise in the next two months.
“The main driver of the fluctuations in Saudi holding is investments, reserve management,  and liquidity considerations,” said Fawaz Al-Fawaz, a Saudi-based independent economist and columnist.
“Since US Treasuries market is the most liquid market in the world hence the most reliable to park funds,” Al-Fawaz told Arab News.
Long-term bonds amounted to $105.6 billion making up 87 percent of the total US Treasuries held by the Kingdom in July. While the short-term bonds were valued at $16 billion in July amounting to 13 percent of the total US Treasuries.
The US Treasuries held by foreign countries amounted to $7.5 trillion in July 2022, showed the data.