WASHINGTON, Feb 28: India hiked its exposure to US government securities by nearly USD 34 billion to touch USD 116.8 billion last year, even as the world’s largest economy witnessed mixed growth trends.
At the end of 2014, the country’s holdings of these securities was worth USD 83 billion.
Latest data from the US Treasury Department showed that India owned securities valued at USD 116.8 billion at the end of December, slightly higher than USD 115.4 billion in November.
In the first six months of 2015, India gradually raised exposure to USD 117 billion, before slightly trimming the holding to USD 116.4 billion in July. Then, it inched up to USD 116.8 billion at December end.
China remained the largest holder of US government securities worth USD 1.246 trillion, followed by Japan with holdings valued at USD 1.123 trillion.
Among the BRIC grouping, India has the third largest holding after China and Brazil (USD 254.8 billion).
Russia held American government securities to the tune of USD 92.1 billion in December last year.
India’s increased exposure to American government securities also comes against the backdrop of the global economy witnessing uneven growth trends in 2015.
Indicating slower expansion, the US economy grew 1 per cent in the three months ended December 2015.
“Real gross domestic product — the value of the goods and services produced by the nation’s economy less the value of the goods and services used up in production, adjusted for price changes — increased at an annual rate of 1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2015,” as per the second estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
In the 2015 third quarter, real GDP rose 2 per cent. (PTI)
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