Foreigners net sellers of U.S. securities in Dec. (by Greg Robb)

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Foreign investors sold a net $21 billion of long-term U.S. securities in December, Treasury Department data released Wednesday showed. This is much weaker than the $58 billion of net purchases in November. Overseas investors were net sellers of $16.6 billion of Treasurys in December down from net purchasers of $54.0 billion in November. They bought a net $27.2 billion of government agency bonds in December compared with $6.2 billion in November. International demand for corporate bonds remained weak. Foreigners were net sellers of $20.7 billion of U.S. corporate bonds in December after net purchasers of $4.8 billion in the previous month. Foreign-based investors sold a net $11.0 billion of U.S. equities in December. Taking into account purchases by U.S. residents and overseas investors, the net foreign purchases of long-term securities was $17.9 billion in December, down from $61.3 billion in November. According to the data, sales of Treasury bills, bonds and notes directly attributed to Mainland China were $31.9 billion. However, China often trades Treasurys through firms in other countries. Japan was a buyer of $3.5 billion of short and longer-term Treasurys in December. The United Kingdom was a seller of $11.1 billion of Treasurys.