Chinese investors dumped the most US stocks and bonds in four years in August, adding to speculation that Beijing moved to give itself greater firepower in its defence of the renminbi.About $15bn of the total $21.2bn in net sales came from disposals of US Treasuries, according to data from the US Treasury Department, which captures trades by investors such as the People’s Bank of China, mutual funds and private investors. Sales of equities totalled about $5bn — a record for monthly sales of US stocks by Chinese investors — while investors also sold agency bonds.
The surge in sales of US securities coincided with efforts by Beijing to step up its defence of the renminbi’s dollar exchange rate, which has come under pressure from slowing economic growth and capital outflows.
“There is speculation in the market that this reflects China cashing out of Treasuries in order to add to their reserves to defend the renminbi,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.