CHINA’S holdings of U.S. Treasuries fell to the lowest level since November 2012, as the world’s second-largest economy draws down its foreign reserves to prop up the yuan.

    The biggest foreign holder of U.S. government debt had US$1.19 trillion in bonds, notes and bills in August, down US$33.7 billion from a month ago, the biggest drop since 2013, according to U.S. Treasury Department data released Tuesday in Washington.

    The portfolio of Japan, the largest holder after China, fell for the first time in three months, down US$10.6 billion to US$1.14 trillion. Saudi Arabia’s holdings of Treasuries declined for a seventh straight month to US$93 billion.

    China sold an estimated US$570 billion in foreign exchange assets from August 2015 to August 2016 in an effort to keep the currency from plunging, according to an estimate by the U.S. Treasury released last week. It reiterated that China’s efforts to support the yuan were preventing a rapid depreciation that would hurt the global economy.

    China’s foreign exchange reserves fell US$16 billion to US$3.19 trillion in August, and are down from a peak of close to US$4 trillion in 2014. The reserves dropped another US$19 billion in September to the lowest level since 2011.

    The report, which also contains data on international capital flows, showed net foreign buying of long-term securities totaling US$48.3 billion in August. It showed a total cross-border inflow, including short-term securities such as Treasury bills and stock swaps, of US$73.8 billion. (SD-Agencies)