Brazil becomes the 4th largest creditor of the United States.

Data from the U.S. Treasury Department indicates that Brazil ended December 2014 with US$256 billion invested in U.S. government bonds. This amount increased by 4,2% compared to the same period in 2013, placing Brazil as the fourth largest individual holder of U.S. public debt; the ranking of the largest holders of U.S. Treasury bonds is led by China, which has US$1,244 trillion invested in American securities.

February 21, 2015, 16:44 PMUpdated July 04, 2018, 21:47 pm

Data from the U.S. Treasury Department indicates that Brazil ended December 2014 with US$256 billion invested in U.S. government bonds. This amount increased by 4,2% compared to the same period in 2013 and places Brazil as the fourth largest individual creditor of U.S. public debt; the ranking of the largest holders of U.S. Treasury bonds is led by China, which has US$1,244 trillion invested in American bonds (Photo: Aquiles Lins).

247 - Data from the U.S. Treasury Department, recently released, indicates that Brazil ended December 2014 with US$256 billion invested in U.S. government bonds. This amount increased by 4,2% compared to the same period in 2013, placing Brazil as the fourth largest individual creditor of U.S. public debt.

The ranking of the largest holders of US Treasury bonds is led by China, which reduced its holdings by US$1,244 trillion in December 2014, compared to US$1,270 trillion at the end of 2013. Following China are Japan and Belgium.

Brazil has gained prominence as one of the world's largest financiers of the US as the country's international reserves have begun to grow. Currently, they stand at US$372 billion. Part of these resources are invested in US securities, considered the safest in the world.

According to Altamiro Silva's blog, with the exception of China, foreigners increased their purchases of US Treasury bonds last year. The stock of securities held abroad closed December at US$6,154 trillion, a growth of 6,2% in 12 months. Japan was one of the countries that increased its stock, by 4%, to US$1,231 trillion.

Economists point out that the fall in yields on government bonds in Europe, especially in countries like Germany, helped attract foreign capital to the US, mainly amid expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed, the US central bank) will raise interest rates this year, the first rate hike since 2006.

Increased foreign interest in US Treasuries has caused the dollar to appreciate against the world's major currencies. Economists at the Institute of International Finance (IIF), comprised of the world's largest banks, believe the US currency is likely to remain strong in the coming months.

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