Monthly TIC flow data, released late........>

US TSYS: Monthly TIC flow data, released late Tuesday, revealed that foreign

investors purchased a net $41.074bn worth of U.S. Tsy Bonds & Notes in the month

of December, the largest round of monthly net purchases seen since August 2018,

and bringing an end to a run of 4 straight months of net selling.

- Foreign official accounts shed $7.587bn worth of Tsy Bond & Note holdings in

December, a 16th straight month of net selling for that investor group. Over a

slightly longer horizon, the group has been a net seller in 20 out of the last

21 months.

- In terms of total flows for calendar 2019, TIC flows revealed that foreign

investors sold a net $134.628bn worth of U.S. Tsy Bonds and Notes. Official

accounts drove net flows, as they shed a net $332.234bn during the calendar the

year, the largest amount of net selling on record for a calendar year from this

investor group.

- China was a net buyer of U.S. Tsy Bonds & Notes for the first month since July

(for a rather paltry $882mn), but shed a little over $119bn worth of its Tsy

Bond & Note holdings over 2019, on a net basis.