Chart of the Day: China’s Shrinking U.S. Treasury Hoard

China’s holdings of U.S. Treasurys fell to a 15-month low in September as the country beefs up measures to support the yuan, which has been depreciating against the dollar amid an ongoing trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

China cut its holdings of U.S. Treasury bills, bonds and notes to $1.15 trillion at the end of September, the lowest level since June 2017 and down by $13.7 billion from a month earlier, according to data published Friday by the U.S. Treasury Department.

Graphic: Gao Baiyu/Caixin

China is the largest foreign holder of U.S. Treasurys. It owned about 18.5% of all foreign-held Treasurys in September. The foreign country with the second-largest holdings is Japan, whose own hoard of the bonds slipped to $1.03 trillion at the end of September.

From mid-March to September, the yuan has lost more than 8% of its value against the U.S. dollar amid the escalating trade war. Fears have grown in the market that the Chinese government might try to stimulate exports by devaluing its currency, but Beijing has been trying to stabilize the yuan and is unlikely to let the currency weaken past the 7 per U.S. dollar anytime soon, experts said last month.

China and the U.S. have resumed talks on settling their trade disputes, China’s Commerce Ministry confirmed last week.

Contact reporter Tang Ziyi (ziyitang@caixin.com)