While the Russian government is making an attempt to tighten control over financial operations in the country, it is actively buying US Treasury securities. Making pompous announcements is a time-proven way to impress the general public yet huge profitable investments never cease to attract those in power.
Advisers of the Russian president are pushing forward an idea to impose taxes on traders and prohibit the Russian people from keeping and using foreign currencies. At the same time, the country’s authorities have purchased US Treasury securities worth almost $5 billion since the beginning of the year. According to the official data published on the website of Russia’s Ministry of Finance, in January, Russia increased its holdings by $4.8 billion. The information was confirmed in the Fed’s reports. These figures seem tremendous, yet Russia is not even at the top of the list of the largest US public debt foreign holders, ranked only 15th with $96.9 billion. The fact is that US treasury bonds are still one of the most reliable financial tools.
China is one of the biggest US securities purchasers. From December to January, China reduced its investments to $1.237 trillion from $1.246 trillion. Total holdings of US bonds owned by foreign investors amount to nearly as much as $6.2 trillion. The sum rose by $35 billion in just one month. At present, US government debt totals $19.11 trillion. Each American citizen's share of this money bulk is $59.1 thousand.
