European Investors Fuel Record Demand for United States Debt Instruments Despite Trade Tensions

European investors accounted for approximately 80 percent of all foreign purchases of United States USTreasuries between April and November 2025, according to recent analysis of portfolio data. Total foreign holdings of American sovereign debt reached a record high in November 2025, driven largely by 240 billion euros in purchases from European financial centers. These figures, released by the United StatesTreasury Department last week, contrast with widespread market concerns that geopolitical friction would trigger a significant liquidation of American assets.

Analysis by Citi, led by senior European rates strategist Aman Bansal, indicates that European buying represented 240 billion euros of the 301 billion-euro total increase in foreign Treasury holdings during the eight-month period. This sustained appetite for debt occurred even as Donald Trump donald trumpannounced sweeping Liberation Day tariffs in April 2025. The data suggests that major institutional players in the European Union EUand other regional hubs maintained their exposure to the market despite a year defined by doubts over the safe-haven status of the dollar and broader market turmoil.