Foreign central banks boost U.S. debt holdings-Fed

NEW YORK, May 15 (Reuters) - Foreign central banks were net buyers of U.S. Treasury debt and U.S. federal agency debt in the latest week, Federal Reserve data showed on Thursday.

The Fed said its holdings of Treasury and agency debt kept for overseas central banks rose $11.6 billion in the week ended May 14, to stand at a total of $2.2845 trillion.

The breakdown showed overseas central banks bought $10.52 billion in Treasury debt, leaving the total at $1.353 trillion.

Foreign institutions bought securities from government-sponsored agencies like Fannie Mae (FNM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Freddie Mac (FRE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), adding $1.1 billion from those holdings to stand at a total $931.93 billion.

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.

The full Fed report can be found on:

here (Reporting by Ellen Freilich; Editing by James Dalgleish)