Foreign demand for U.S. assets up in January

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch)
Foreign investors were buyers in January of a net $94.7 billion of long-term U.S. securities, Treasury Department data released Thursday showed
This is much stronger than the revised $19.4 billion of net sales in December
Overseas investors were net buyers of $83 billion of Treasurys in January up from net sales of $14.9 billion in December
They bought a net $9.6 billion of government agency bonds in December compared with $27.2 billion in December
International demand for corporate bonds remained weak
Foreigners were net sellers of $1.3 billion of U.S. corporate bonds in January after net sales of $20.7 billion in the previous month
Foreign-based investors purchased a net $3.4 billion of U.S. equities in January
Taking into account purchases by U.S. residents and overseas investors, the net foreign purchases of long-term securities was $101.0 billion in January, up from $19.1 billion in December
 According to the data, China-based investors increased their holdings of U.S. Treasurys for the first time since last July
Investors in Japan, major oil exporters and the United Kingdom also increased their holdings of Treasurys