NEW YORK (Reuters) - Foreign central banks' overall holdings of U.S. marketable securities at the Federal Reserve fell in the latest week, data from the U.S. central bank showed on Thursday.
The Fed said its holdings of U.S. securities kept for overseas central banks fell $767 million in the week ended August 7, to stand at $3.3 trillion.
The breakdown of custody holdings showed overseas central banks' holdings of Treasury debt fell by $541 million to stand at $2.9 trillion.
Foreign institutions' holdings of securities issued or guaranteed by the biggest U.S. mortgage financing agencies, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac , fell by $340 million to stand at $308 billion.
The Fed said its holdings of so-called "other" securities held in custody and reported at face value rose by $114 million to stand at $37.3 billion. These securities include non-marketable U.S. Treasury securities, supranationals, corporate bonds, asset-backed securities and commercial paper.
Overseas central banks, particularly those in Asia, have been huge buyers of U.S. debt in recent years and own more than a quarter of marketable Treasuries. China and Japan are the biggest foreign holders of Treasuries.