More on UK purchases of US Treasury securities

I have sent the following email to George Osborne, the shadow Chancellor:

"Please find attached a document from the US Treasury website, detailing major foreign holdings of US Treasury securities (web address top left of document). I emailed this document to the Daily Mail newsdesk yesterday, in the fervent hope that somebody might take an interest.

Between June 2006 and May 2007, the UK has leapt from being the 10th largest foreign holder of American debt to 3rd place (behind Japan and China, both of whom, although increasing in dollar terms, have actually reduced their overall share of foreign commitment to the US).

We have contributed an extra $112.1 billion, i.e. around 55% of the $205 billion total increase in investment by foreigners over that 12 month period. To put it another way, 10 countries have reduced their holdings in dollar terms, by a combined total of $72 billion; we have covered these withdrawals and added another $40 bn.

For comparison purposes, the UK's increase in US Treasury securities is equivalent to some 50% of the £104 billion budget for the NHS for next year (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/article2039584.ece)

The effect for the UK has been to more than triple its exposure to US Treasury instruments, at a time when the dollar is dropping - and some predict it will fall much further. The potential loss of our national wealth easily matches (and will quite possibly dwarf) that from the sale by Gordon Brown of much of our gold reserves some years ago."