jg – this is a gem! Some questions: Why is Japan the major buyer of Treasuries, double of China? I thought we import mostly from China.
We need to note that the oil producing nations buy their Treasuries via other countries/dealers, so their actual purchase is not known and does not show up in the Treasury or Flow of Funds reports. You can bet they are ending up with 50% more dollars vs. 2 years ago, since oil is 50% higher vs 2004. What are they doing with all those dollars?
Why are Mexico and Canada doubling, and the United Kingdom tripling, their monthly Treasury purchases vs. last year?
A few countries lowered their Treasury purchases, but only by 5 or 10%. Most countries increased or kept constant their Treasury purchases through the period shown, May 2006.
Why are there such wild swings in the monthly inflow/outflow of Treasury bonds/notes? The other chart (last link you gave) shows a constant monthly purchase.
The second link shows $17.7 bil tendered, $9.9 bil accepted. Does that mean only half the Treasuries were sold?
