U.S.-aligned countries, led by Asia, slash U.S. Treasury purchases by 60%

Being one of Washington’s closest partners no longer means reliably funding the U.S. deficit. Countries and regions most aligned with the U.S. bought a net $174.3 billion of U.S. Treasuries, excluding bills, in the first eight months of 2026, according to an analysis of Treasury and U.S.

That was the lowest for the period since 2021, and down more than 60% from a year earlier. The shift is noteworthy in Asia, where economies running large surpluses are putting less of that money into U.S. debt.