Foreign holdings of US Treasuries slip in December

Feb 18 (Reuters) - Foreign holdings of U.S. Treasuries slipped in December as Japan and the United Kingdom, the two largest ?holders of U.S. government debt, ?reduced their portfolio sizes, data from the Treasury ?Department showed on Wednesday.

Holdings of U.S. Treasuries ?fell to $9.27 trillion in December, from $9.36 ?trillion in ?November.

Japan's Treasuries holdings dipped to $1.19 trillion from $1.20 trillion ?the previous month. ?Japan remains the largest foreign holder of U.S. Treasury securities.

The United Kingdom, ?which is No. ?2, ?cut its holdings to $866 billion, from $889 billion in November. China, the third largest holder of ?U.S. Treasuries, held its portfolio roughly ?steady at $683.5 billion, compared to $683.9 billion the previous month.

Yields rose in early December before holding in a tight range ?for ?the rest of the month ?after the Federal Reserve cut rates on ?December 10. Sharply divided policymakers signaled borrowing costs are unlikely to drop further in the near term as the U.S. central bank awaits clarity on the direction of a job market ?showing signs of softening, inflation that "remains somewhat elevated" and an economy it sees picking up ?steam in 2026.

(Reporting ?by Karen Brettell; Editing by ?Chizu Nomiyama )