Chinese purchases of US debt rose to $1.15 trillion during April

NEW YORK / BEIJING - China, the largest foreign holder of United States Treasuries, bought more federal bonds in April for the first time since October despite concerns over the US debt level.

China's purchases of US debt rose $7.6 billion to $1.15 trillion - the first month-on-month increase since its holdings reached $1.18 trillion in October, according to the Treasury International Capital report, known as TIC. China boosted its holdings after selling most of its bonds for five straight months.

Overall, foreign nations were net buyers of US long-term securities, with purchases rising by $30.6 billion in April.