Saudi Arabias US treasury holdings fall to a 5-year low

The relatively marginal monthly drop followed a bigger decline of $7.8 billion recorded in October driven by a $6.8 billion decrease in short-term U.S. Treasury bills. The $1.5 billion slip experienced in November was driven mainly by the disposal of the long-term U.S. Treasuries from the country's portfolio.

In the group of other oil-exporters, it's worth noting that Norway continued its disposal of treasuries as its holding fell for the second month in row. The country's holding of US Treasuries fell by $4.8 billion in November to $100.2 billion after a much bigger drop of $15.8 billion in October.

The UAE also continued selling its treasury holdings, falling by $5 billion in November after a similar $5.1 billion drop in October. This represents quite a significant share of the country's total UST holding which fell to $48 billion in November from $58.7 billion in August.

In addition, Kuwait's holdings declined by $1 billion in November to $45 billion.

As for China, the world's second largest holder of US Treasuries, its holding grew in November by $15.4 billion to $1.08 trillion.

Japan, the number one holder, increased its US treasuries by $20.2 billion, the second consecutive monthly rise.

Globally, the total holding of US Treasuries by non-US residents increased by $88.8 billion to $7.75 trillion.