INTERNATIONAL FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES

• World foreign currency reserves totaled $3.81 trillion in February 2005, according to the Bank for International Settlements - up almost half a trillion dollars from $3.36 trillion in March 2004 and almost double end-1998 levels.
• Developing countries hold about 55 percent of these reserves at some $2.1 trillion worth, according to BIS data. Their portion of world forex reserves has declined by almost 10 percent between early 2004 and early 2005.
• Most recent estimates of the breakdown of those reserves show 64 percent denominated in U.S. dollars -- up from 53 percent in the early 1990s. About 20 percent were in euros, 5 percent in Japanese yen and 4 percent in British pounds.

TOP 10 CENTRAL BANK RESERVE HOLDINGS (in billions):

	JUNE	MARCH '05	DEC 2004	DEC 2003
Japan*	$825	$820	$824	$674
China	$711	$659	$610	$403
Taiwan	$254	$251	$242	$207
SKorea	$205	$207	$196	$155
Euro zone*	$205	$205	$207	$233
India*	$131	$135	$125	$ 96
Hong Kong*	$122	$122	$124	$118
Singapore*	$115	$114	$113	$ 96
Russia*	$114	$109	$104	$ 73
Malaysia*	$ 70	$ 68	$ 65	$ 45

* excluding gold, SDRs, other assets
Total rise of reserves of these 10 in 2nd quarter = $62 bln
Total rise of reserves of these 10 since 2003 = $652 bln

U.S. NATIONAL ACCOUNTS

• United States' current account deficit last year was a record $666 billion (5.7 percent of GDP), up $135 billion or 25 percent compared with 2003. The c/a deficit was $195.1 billion in first quarter of 2005 (a record 6.4 percent of GDP). IMF forecasts deficit to rise to $725 billion in 2005 and $750 billion in 2006.
• U.S. Net International Investment Position, which measures country's total stock of IoUs to foreign investors and governments, was in the red to the tune of $2.484 trillion at end of 2004 -- or 21.3 percent of GDP.
• U.S. budget deficit in fiscal year 2004 was $412 billion, or 3.8 percent of GDP. But cumulative deficit for 2005 fiscal year so far was $249.80 billion, down from $327.26 billion in first nine months of fiscal 2004. Last month, White House slashed its forecast for fiscal 2005 deficit to $333 billion -- or 2.7 percent of GDP - from $427 billion previously.

SIZE OF U.S. TREASURY MARKET AND FOREIGN HOLDINGS:

• Total outstanding marketable Treasury securities in June 2005 was $4.031 trillion, down from $4.086 trillion in March but up from $3.975 trillion in January. Totals outstanding at the end of 2003 were $3.575 trillion.
• Foreign holdings of Treasury securities, both private and public, amounted to $2.027 trillion (50.3 percent of total) in May 2005 -- up from and $1.976 trillion, or 49 percent, in March. Foreigners held $1.576 trillion in January 2004, or 44 percent.
• Marketable debt securities held in custody by Federal Reserve for foreign official and international accounts (mostly foreign central banks) was $1.454 trillion on July 28, up from $1.389 trillion in April and $1.336 trillion end '04.
• Treasury debt accounted for $1.095 trillion of this, up $33 billion from the end of 2004. Agency debt made up bulk of rest.
• Top 10 foreign holders of Treasuries by geography (private and public) and in billions

	May '05	Dec '04	Dec '03
Japan	$686	$712	$584
China	$244	$194	$157
UK	$133	$164	$ 94
Caribbean Centers	$126	$ 69	$ 55
Taiwan	$ 71	$ 59	$ 53
OPEC countries	$ 63	$ 60	$ 43
Germany	$ 61	$ 54	$ 48
South Korea	$ 59	$ 69	$ 60
Hong Kong	$ 53	$ 53	$ 54
Luxembourg	$ 45	$ 41	$ 26

(Sources: International Monetary Fund, Bank for International Settlements, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, U.S. Treasury, U.S. Federal Reserve, national central banks, Reuters news)