The most recent U.S. Treasury International Capital report shows that during the years covering March 2022-March 2023 and March 2023-March 2024 combined, approximately $2.9 trillion in financial capital flowed from the rest of the world into the United States economy, primarily through the net purchase of U.S. securities (and other forms of foreign investment in U.S. firms). This occurred as the United States ordered global NATO countries into war and deindustrialization, U.S. interest rates rose higher than in any major economy, the dollar rose relative to other currencies, and U.S. stock market “values” climbed almost continuously. Other economies were looted of investment by, in effect, a reverse dollar carry trade.
Moreover, this large inflow occurred while the U.S. economy itself registered low levels of GDP growth—not over 2% annually and now apparently declining further; U.S. manufacturing activity and employment fell, and industrial production was stagnant; and the U.S. Treasury issued huge volumes of new debt, estimated at a net annual rate of more than $2 trillion.
During the second year, March 2023-March 2024, there was even a swing back to net foreign government purchases of U.S. Treasury securities—from a net “foreign official” selloff by $133.6 billion, to a net foreign official purchase of $100.1 billion of Treasuries.
