Foreign central banks net buyers of U.S. debt -Fed

Foreign central banks were net buyers of U.S. Treasuries and agencies last week, Federal Reserve data showed on Thursday.

The Fed said its holdings of Treasury and agency debt kept for overseas central banks rose $12.57 billion in the week ended Oct. 17, to stand at a total of $2.025 trillion.

The breakdown of custody holdings showed overseas central banks bought $10.10 billion in Treasury debt to stand at a total $1.237 trillion.

The foreign institutions bought securities from government-sponsored agencies like Fannie Mae (FNM.N: Quote, Profile , Research) and Freddie Mac (FRE.N: Quote, Profile , Research), adding $2.47 billion to their holdings, to stand at a total $787.71 billion.

Overseas central banks, particularly those in Asia, have been huge buyers of U.S. debt in recent years, and own over a quarter of marketable Treasuries.

Banks borrowed an average $240 million a day at the Fed's discount window in the latest week, down from $257 million a day in the week ended Oct. 10.

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