RIYADH: Saudi Arabia slightly increased its holdings of US Treasury securities to $140.3 billion at the end of May, compared with $140.1 billion a month earlier, according to the latest data from the US Treasury Department.
The Kingdom ranked 17th among major foreign holders of US Treasuries, behind Brazil at $168.9 billion and ahead of South Korea at $132.3 billion. Saudi Arabia’s position remains among the largest in the Middle East, ahead of the UAE, which held $118.6 billion.
The Treasury International Capital report offers one of the clearest monthly snapshots of global demand for US government debt, tracking holdings by foreign governments and investors. The data is widely monitored as an indicator of international capital flows, reserve management strategies and confidence in the world’s largest sovereign bond market.
The May figure marks a monthly increase of $200 million, or about 0.1 percent, while holdings were up $12.6 billion from $127.7 billion in May 2025.
Foreign demand remains strong
The US Department of the Treasury said in a report that foreign investors recorded net purchases of $132.2 billion in US securities in May.
“After including adjustments, such as estimated foreign portfolio acquisitions of US stocks through stock swaps, overall net foreign purchases of long-term securities are estimated to have been $232.7 billion in May.”
Foreign residents bought a net $262.8 billion of long-term US securities during the month, while reducing their holdings of Treasury bills by $43.5 billion.
Japan leads foreign holders
Japan remained the largest foreign holder of US Treasury securities in May, with $1.143 trillion, followed by the UK at $948.6 billion and mainland China at $659.3 billion. Total foreign holdings of US Treasuries stood at $9.37 trillion, up from $9.35 trillion in April.
The Treasury Department said the data is collected primarily from US-based custodians and broker-dealers, noting that securities held through overseas custody accounts may not always be attributed to the final owner.
The Kingdom’s treasury holdings form part of its broader reserve position. The country’s official reserve assets stood at SR1.83 trillion ($486.3 billion) at the end of May and rose to SR1.85 trillion, or about $494.55 billion, at the end of June.
Reserve assets include monetary gold, foreign currency reserves, special drawing rights, the reserve position with the International Monetary Fund and other reserve assets.
