According to the data from the US Treasury Department, Kuwait has significantly increased its holdings of US Treasury bonds.
Between September 2023 and September 2024, Kuwait purchased bonds worth $7.51 billion, bringing its total holdings to $48.29 billion by the end of September 2024.
This marks an 18.4% rise compared to the $40.78 billion it held a year earlier, September 2023.
On a monthly basis, the data reveals that Kuwait’s holdings of US Treasury bonds rose by 1.9%, amounting to an additional $888 million. This increase follows a total of $47.4 billion at the end of last August.
Meanwhile Kuwait’s holdings of US Treasury bonds increased by, $1.94 billion, during the first nine months of 2024. This represents a 4.18% increase compared to the $46.35 billion held at the end of December 2023.
Kuwait’s holdings of US Treasury bonds are divided between long-term and short-term securities.
As of the latest data, Kuwait holds $47.38 billion in long-term bonds and $910 million in short-term bonds. Over the past months, Kuwait’s investment strategy in US bonds has seen fluctuations, with holdings being adjusted by billions.
These changes appear to coincide with movements in bond yields, which have likely influenced Kuwait’s decisions to increase or reduce its holdings.
As for Gulf countries’ holdings of US bonds, Saudi Arabia’s holdings of US Treasury bonds saw an increase in September 2024, rising by $1.1 billion to reach a total of $143.9 billion. This represents a growth rate of 0.77%, compared to the $142.8 billion held in last August.
Of this total, $113.4 billion is invested in long-term bonds, while $30.48 billion is in short-term bonds.
The UAE’s holdings of US Treasury bonds decreased in September 2024. The total value of UAE’s holdings dropped to $71.91 billion, down from $79.16 billion in last August, marking a decrease of 9.1% or $7.24 billion. This decline includes $61 billion in long-term bonds and $10.9 billion in short-term bonds.
Globally, Japan maintained its position as the largest foreign holder of US Treasury bonds in September 2024, with holdings totaling $1.12 trillion. This represents a slight decline of $6 billion, or 0.53%, compared to $1.13 trillion in last August.
The data indicated that China ranked second, after Japan, in US Treasury bond holdings as of September 2024, with a total of $772 billion. This marks a decline of $2.5 billion, or 0.32%, from $774.5 billion in last August.
Britain ranked third in US Treasury bond holdings as of September 2024, with a total of $764.7 billion. This represents an increase of $20.8 billion, or 2.8%, from $743.9 billion in last August.
The data indicated that foreign holdings of US Treasury bonds reached a record high of $8.67 trillion in September 2024. This marks a monthly increase of $169.5 billion, or 2%, compared to $8.5 trillion in last August.
