Kuwait raises its holdings of US Treasury securities to a record high of $69.23 billion

Kuwait raised its holdings of U.S. Treasury securities to $69.23 billion by the end of July 2026, marking its highest level according to monthly data released by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. This followed an addition of $11.111 billion over the past year, compared with $58.123 billion in July 2025, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 19.12 percent.

The annual rise extends the growth in Kuwait’s holdings since the beginning of 2026, which increased by $3.182 billion from $66.052 billion at the end of December 2025. In July alone, holdings rose by $416 million from the June 2026 level of $68.818 billion.

Official data showed that Kuwait’s holdings fluctuated between $65.594 billion and $69.234 billion during the first seven months of the year before reaching their peak in July.

Long-term bonds accounted for the largest share of Kuwait’s U.S. Treasury portfolio, totaling $66.922 billion at the end of July, compared with $2.312 billion in short-term bills. Long-term instruments thus represented more than 96 percent of Kuwait’s total holdings, making them the primary component of Kuwait’s investments in U.S. government debt.

Kuwait’s holdings of long-term bonds stood at $66.658 billion in June 2026 before rising to $66.922 billion in July. Meanwhile, holdings of short-term instruments increased from $2.160 billion to $2.312 billion over the same period. Data indicate that the bulk of the annual increase came from an expansion in long-term bonds, which rose from $57.100 billion in July 2025 to $66.922 billion in July 2026.

At the Gulf level, Saudi Arabia maintained its position as the largest Arab holder of U.S. Treasury securities, with total holdings of $142.4 billion at the end of July 2026, placing it 17th among the world’s largest holders. The United Arab Emirates ranked second among Arab holders with $110.1 billion, or 19th globally. Combined, the holdings of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait reached $321.734 billion by the end of the month.

Globally, Japan continued to lead the list of the largest holders of U.S. Treasury securities with $1.1039 trillion at the end of July, despite a decline from $1.1167 trillion in June. The United Kingdom moved up to second place with $998.3 billion, up from $939.9 billion in the previous month, followed by China in third with $618 billion, compared with $633.4 billion in June.

Belgium followed with $470.7 billion, then the Cayman Islands with $460.1 billion, Luxembourg with $442.1 billion, and Canada with $426.3 billion. Total foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury securities reached $9.2481 trillion at the end of July 2026, compared with $9.2985 trillion in June and $9.1095 trillion in July 2025.

Accordingly, foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury securities increased by $138.6 billion on a year-on-year basis, while declining by $50.4 billion in July compared with June. Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury international flow data recorded net foreign inflows into the United States of $83.7 billion during the month, comprising $73.5 billion in private flows and $10.2 billion in official flows.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury notes that bond holding data are based primarily on information provided by custodians and intermediaries in the United States. As a result, securities held through accounts in other countries may not be fully attributed to the ultimate owner. Furthermore, these data cover only U.S. Treasury instruments and do not represent the total government or private investments of countries within the U.S. economy.