China's U.S. Treasury holdings revised to $1.160 trillion

The United States owes considerably more money to China than previously reported, the Treasury Department said on Monday as it revised Beijing's holdings of U.S. Treasury debt sharply upward to $1.160 trillion.

The $268.4 billion increase over figures reported on February 15 was contained in a survey of foreign portfolio holdings of U.S. securities released on Monday. The report attributed Treasuries holdings to China that were previously counted in other countries where broker-dealers made purchases.

The United Kingdom has typically been a country where brokers have purchased Treasuries for central banks and investors elsewhere, including China.

The Treasury report showed that UK December Treasuries holdings were revised downward to $272.1 billion from a previously reported $541.3 billion -- a drop of $269.2 billion.

Other major foreign holders of Treasuries showed much smaller revisions. Japan's December holdings declined $1.3 billion to $882.3 billion, while holdings of oil-exporting countries $6.1 billion to $211.9 billion.

The preliminary report of foreign portfolio holdings showed that as of June 30, 2010, foreign countries held $10.701 trillion of U.S. securities, an 11 percent increase over the $9.641 trillion they held a year earlier.

(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Kenneth Barry)