January sees foreigners withdraw nearly $150 billion from U.S. assets

In January, foreign capital outflows from the U.S. reached $148.9 billion while China increased its Treasury holdings by $12.2 billion, according to U.S. government data. The outflow compares with an $86.2 billion inflow in December. Michael Woolfolk, a Bank of New York Mellon senior currency strategist, said the record outflows were a concern. "This was a truly awful report, throwing into question the funding of the U.S. current-account deficit," he said.