Analysis of US Treasury and State Department data shows countries and territories close to the United States net purchased $174.3bn of US Treasuries (excluding short-term Treasury bills) in the first eight months of 2026, the weakest same-period reading since 2021 and down more than 60% YoY. The decline is concentrated in Asia: Japan, the largest overseas holder, net bought just $389m through August, a 99% YoY drop; South Korea was a net seller of $23.8bn, the largest reduction for the period si

Analysis of US Treasury and State Department data shows countries and territories close to the United States net purchased $174.3bn of US Treasuries (excluding short-term Treasury bills) in the first eight months of 2026, the weakest same-period reading since 2021 and down more than 60% YoY. The decline is concentrated in Asia: Japan, the largest overseas holder, net bought just $389m through August, a 99% YoY drop; South Korea was a net seller of $23.8bn, the largest reduction for the period since records began in 1977. The statistics do not separate official from private flows, and governments have not signaled coordinated divestment. Factors cited include local currency weakness, rising domestic yields, stronger equity appeal and concerns about US policy uncertainty. State Street senior fixed-income strategist Masahiko Loo said: “The Treasury market hasn’t lost overseas buyers, it has lost passive, automatic allocators. Increasing US policy unpredictability undermines the logic of structurally overweighting Treasuries and habitually recycling surplus funds into them.”