On account of persistent uncertainties in America-the world’s largest economy, India has trimmed its exposure to US government securities to $57 billion in August, the lowest in four months. The country has trimmed its position by as much as $1.9 billion compared to July when it stood at $58.9 billion.
The country started trimming its exposure in US government securities since May, after US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke signalled a tapering of the third round of Quantitative Easing, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram hastened to assure the markets that QE in the US, Japan and Europe had 'no relevance at all' for India. In May, the country’s exposure in American treasury bills stood at $59.9 billion.
Thus, among the BRICS nations, India has the second lowest holding of American government securities. South Africa held $13.2 billion worth US securities in August, way lower than that of India. Whereas, China remains the biggest holder of American securities with exposure worth $1.26 trillion in August, followed by Japan which has holdings worth $1.14 trillion. Meanwhile, Brazil's holding in August stood at $ 252.9 billion and Russia’s at $ 136 billion.
