Foreign central banks' US debt holdings rise - Fed

NEW YORK Dec 23 (Reuters) - Foreign central banks' overall holdings of U.S. marketable securities at the Federal Reserve rose in the latest week, data from the U.S. central bank showed on Thursday.

The Fed said its holdings of U.S. securities kept for overseas central banks rose $17.26 billion in the week ended Dec. 22 to stand at $3.358 trillion.

The breakdown of custody holdings showed overseas central banks' holdings of Treasury debt rose by $13.08 billion to stand at $2.625 trillion.

Foreign institutions' holdings of securities issued or guaranteed by the biggest U.S. mortgage financing agencies, including Fannie Mae (FNMA.OB) and Freddie Mac (FMCC.OB), rose by $4.17 billion to stand at $732.65 billion.

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For balance sheet graphic: link.reuters.com/buf92k

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Overseas central banks, particularly those in Asia, have been huge buyers of U.S. debt in recent years, and own over a quarter of marketable Treasuries. China and Japan are the biggest two foreign holders of Treasuries.

The full Fed report can be found on: here (Reporting by Steven C. Johnson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)