Foreign holdings of US Treasuries surge to record in July; China's plunge

NEW YORK, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Foreign holdings of U.S. Treasuries rose to an all-time peak in July, data from the Treasury Department showed on Thursday, hitting record highs for a third straight month, led by gains in holdings from Japan and the United Kingdom.

Holdings of U.S. Treasuries surged to $9.159 trillion in July, up from $9.126 trillion the previous month. Compared with a year earlier, Treasuries owned by foreigners were up nearly 9%.

China's holdings of Treasuries, on the other hand, dropped to $730.7 billion, its lowest since December 2008 when the world's second largest economy held $727.4 billion.