India had reduced its exposure to US government securities to $115.4 billion in November last year even as BRIC peers China and Russia hiked their holdings during the same period.

China had remained the largest holder of US Treasury securities in November with exposure worth $1.265 trillion, followed by Japan at $1.145 trillion.

Latest data from the US Treasury Department showed that India’s holding declined to $115.4 billion during the month from $116.6 billion in October 2015.

The reduction comes at a time when the global economy is witnessing headwinds, especially from growth concerns in China and relatively sluggish recovery in Europe as well as the US.

India’s exposure had fallen to $113.5 billion in September from $115.6 billion seen in August.

While India had cut its exposure, Russia had sharply increased its holding to $88 billion last November whereas that of Brazil remained unchanged at $255 billion compared to October. China too raised its holding marginally.

In the three months ended December 31, the US economy grew 0.7 per cent, while the GDP expansion stood at 2 per cent in July-September quarter of 2015.

“The increase in real GDP in the fourth quarter primarily reflected positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures, residential fixed investment, and federal government spending that were partly offset by negative contributions from private inventory investment, exports, and non-residential fixed investment,” the US Bureau of Economic Analysis had said on January 29.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW