Saudi Arabia boosted its holdings of US Treasuries in November, helping offset a decline from China as the total amount of foreign holdings rose to a record for the month.
Riyadh's stockpile of holdings rose to $148.8 billion in November, an increase of $14.4 billion from the previous month, according to Treasury Department data.
Saudi Arabia is one of the largest foreign holders of US Treasuries, which is traditionally considered to be a safe asset.
The kingdom's holdings are part of its strong economic relationship with the US, which also includes the dollar peg and other investments in US financial assets.
Saudi Arabia was the only country in the Middle East to make up the 20 largest foreign holders of Treasuries for the month of November. The kingdom overtook South Korea as the 17th-largest shareholder of the asset.
Total foreign holdings rose to $9.36 trillion for November, a new high, which also saw an increase from Norway and Canada.
Meanwhile, China's foreign holdings fell by $6.1 billion from October to $682.6 billion.
Japan, the largest foreign holder of Treasury securities, slightly increased its stockpile from $1.2 trillion to $1.202 trillion, while the UK also boosted its holdings by roughly $11 billion to $888.5 billion.
Canada, whose holdings of the asset have swung wildly this year, boosted its stockpile in November by more than $50 billion to bring its total to $472.2 billion.
India meanwhile, the 15th largest holder of Treasury securities, saw its holdings fall by about $4 billion to $186.5 billion.
