Brad Setser reports:
It is a good thing the US trade deficit has come down, because foreign demand for US financial assets — actually foreign demand for US assets other than short-term Treasury bills — has dried up.
Foreign investors bought $68 billion of T-bills in February. Russia alone (likely Russia’s central bank) bought close to $14 billion. Private investors — seemingly Japanese private investors — also bought $23.5b of longer-term Treasury notes. Otherwise, though, foreign investors didn’t buy much of anything. And Americans also didn’t buy many foreign assets.
It will be interesting to see if March's rally in risk assets corresponded to an increase in demand by foreigners.
Source: Treasury
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