Foreign central banks sell $21.7bn Treasuries

Bloomberg

Foreign official holdings of Treasuries stashed at the Federal Reserve declined $21.7 billion during the first week of April, as the economic consequences of the coronavirus roiled governments and central banks around the world.
The decrease appeared in the Fed’s weekly custody data, with the latest figure indicating a drop for the week that ended April 8. That’s the sixth straight week of declines and follows a $109 billion drop in March that was the largest monthly fall on record.
The sales occurred before the Fed ramped up its efforts to support the US economy, with as much as $2.3 trillion more aid unveiled amid a historic surge in unemployment claims. The move is designed to shore up some of the hardest hit parts of the financial markets, which have seen funding strains alongside a global rush to raise US dollars.
As part of the new package, the Fed pledged to buy debt recently downgraded to below investment grade, as well as certain collateralised loan obligations and commercial mortgage-backed securities. The central bank also unveiled sweeping steps to provide additional aid to small and medium-sized businesses, along with state and local governments.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said in a speech Thursday that the central bank will act “forcefully, pro-actively, and aggressively” to help the country recover, even as he hinted at limits to that authority.
Policy makers have “shown the markets they are doing whatever it takes for the economy, but now it seems they need to wait and see how things unfold,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst for Oanda Corp. in New York.
Key metrics at the heart of the US financial system already show that the flow of money is getting smoother, with the three-month London interbank offered rate for dollars staging its steepest
decline in a month on April 9.