Net TIC inflow in November 2025 was $212.0 billion (sum of long-term securities, short-term U.S. securities, and banking flows).
Net foreign private inflows were $167.2 billion and net foreign official inflows were $44.9 billion in November.
Foreign residents’ net purchases of long-term U.S. securities in November were $221.8 billion (private $157.8 billion; official $64.0 billion).
After adjustments (including estimated stock-swap activity), overall net foreign purchases of long-term securities are estimated at $220.2 billion for November.
U.S. residents’ net purchases of long-term foreign securities were $1.6 billion in November.
Foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury bills rose by $0.4 billion, while holdings of all dollar-denominated short-term U.S. securities and custody liabilities fell by $6.5 billion.
Banks’ own net dollar-denominated liabilities to foreign residents decreased by $1.7 billion.
The next TIC data release (covering December 2025) is scheduled for February 18, 2026.
Follow Up Questions
What is the Treasury International Capital (TIC) system and what exactly does it measure?Expand
The Treasury International Capital (TIC) system is the U.S. government’s main statistical system for tracking cross‑border portfolio capital between U.S. residents and foreign residents. It measures:
Transactions (flows) in financial assets like long‑term securities (Treasury bonds and notes, agency and corporate bonds, stocks) and some short‑term instruments;
The resulting positions (how much U.S. and foreign investors hold of each other’s securities and certain bank and custody claims/liabilities);
Related banking, non‑bank, and derivatives claims and liabilities.
Direct investment (e.g., building factories abroad) is excluded and is measured separately by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Key TIC uses include feeding into the U.S. balance of payments and international investment position and providing data on foreign demand for U.S. securities and U.S. investment abroad.
Who are considered "foreign official" holders versus "foreign private" holders in the TIC data?Expand
In TIC data:
Foreign official holders are foreign public‑sector entities: foreign central banks, finance ministries/treasuries, sovereign wealth funds, and certain international and regional organizations holding assets in an official reserve or governmental capacity.
Foreign private holders are all other non‑U.S. investors: foreign commercial banks, insurance companies, pension and mutual funds, corporations, hedge funds, and individual investors.
Press releases split “net foreign private inflows” and “net foreign official inflows” to show how much of the month’s net inflow comes from private‑sector vs. public‑sector foreign investors.
How does the report define long-term securities versus short-term U.S. securities (e.g., Treasury bills)?Expand
In TIC:
Long‑term securities are securities with an original maturity of more than one year. This category includes long‑term U.S. Treasury bonds and notes, U.S. agency and corporate bonds, asset‑backed securities, and equities, as well as long‑term foreign bonds and stocks.
Short‑term U.S. securities are dollar‑denominated instruments with an original maturity of one year or less, notably U.S. Treasury bills, other short‑term negotiable instruments (like commercial paper or short‑dated agency/corporate issues), and related custody liabilities.
The monthly TIC press tables group flows into: net foreign acquisitions of long‑term securities, changes in foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury bills, and changes in holdings of all other dollar‑denominated short‑term U.S. securities and custody liabilities.
What are "custody liabilities" and "selected other liabilities," and how do they affect the totals?Expand
In the monthly TIC release:
Custody liabilities are mainly the dollar‑denominated short‑term U.S. securities and cash‑like balances that U.S. banks and broker‑dealers hold in custody for foreign clients. When the press notice says “short‑term U.S. securities and other custody liabilities,” it is summarizing the monthly change in these foreign‑held, dollar‑denominated short‑term positions reported by U.S. custodians.
Selected other liabilities are defined in TIC footnotes as “primarily the foreign liabilities of U.S. customers that are managed by U.S. banks or broker/dealers,” including certain loans (e.g., loans from foreign offices managed in the U.S. or syndicated loans from foreigners to U.S. borrowers).
These items affect the totals because they are part of the monthly change in foreign holdings of short‑term U.S. assets and related bank‑managed liabilities, which enter the TIC calculation of total net dollar‑denominated portfolio inflows alongside long‑term securities flows and banks’ own net dollar liabilities.
What are "stock swaps" and how do they change the adjusted net purchase figures reported by TIC?Expand
In TIC methodology, “stock swaps” refer to cross‑border acquisitions of equity that occur via exchanging shares rather than through cash purchases, typically in mergers or acquisitions where U.S. and foreign companies swap stock.
Because basic transaction reports can miss these non‑cash portfolio acquisitions, TIC makes an adjustment: it adds estimated foreign portfolio acquisitions of U.S. stocks through stock swaps and subtracts U.S. acquisitions of foreign stocks through stock swaps (along with some other minor items) in the line “Other Acquisitions of Long‑Term Securities, net.”
This adjustment changes the “net Long‑Term Securities Transactions” figure into the “Net Foreign Acquisition of Long‑Term Securities” figure, which is what the press release cites as “overall net foreign purchases of long‑term securities” after adjustments.
How should a layperson interpret a net TIC inflow—does it indicate foreign confidence in U.S. markets or something else?Expand
A net TIC inflow means that, over the month, more capital flowed into U.S. dollar assets from abroad (net foreign acquisitions of long‑term securities, short‑term securities, and banking claims) than flowed out from U.S. investors buying foreign assets.
For a layperson:
It generally indicates strong net foreign demand for U.S. financial assets in that month.
This can reflect relative attractiveness or liquidity of U.S. markets, interest‑rate differentials, safe‑haven demand, or portfolio rebalancing, not just “confidence” in the U.S. economy.
TIC data do not capture direct investment (factories, subsidiaries) and have known attribution issues, so officials caution against reading too much into any single month or into country‑by‑country “confidence” stories based solely on TIC.
Thus, a large net TIC inflow is a sign that foreign investors (both private and official) on balance increased their holdings of U.S. dollar assets that month, but the motives can be varied and are not directly observed in the data.