NEW YORK, April 15 (Reuters) - Private overseas investors led the charge into U.S. securities in February, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Friday, as overall purchases tripled compared to the prior month.
Including short-dated assets such as bills, the United States attracted a net inflow of $97.7 billion from a downwardly revised $30.6 billion in January.
Net long-term capital inflows moderated to $26.9 billion in February, compared to a downwardly revised $51.1 billion.
Private investors were the main overall buyers, taking in a net $92.6 billion. The official sector, which includes foreign central banks, showed a net inflow of $5.1 billion.
China, the largest foreign U.S. creditor, saw its holdings of Treasury debt slip slightly to $1.154 trillion from $1.155 trillion. China reported this week that its total foreign exchange reserves hit a record above $3 trillion. (Reporting by Steven C. Johnson; Editing by James Dalgleish)