Foreign demand for long-term U.S. financial assets slowed in October and China's holdings of U.S. Treasury securities was unchanged.
Continued strong demand for U.S. debt is critical to financing America's soaring budget deficits and keeping domestic interest rates low enough to support a broad economic recovery.
The Treasury Department says foreigners purchased $20.7 billion more in assets than they sold in October, down from a $40.7 billion increase in September. That had been the biggest gain since June.
China, the largest holder of U.S. Treasury securities, maintained its holdings at $798.9 billion in October.
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