Kuwait Buys a Net 13.24 Billion Dollars of US Treasuries in a Year as Holdings Hit 72.96 Billion
Residents of Kuwait bought a net 13.24 billion dollars of US Treasury securities in the 12 months to August 2026, according to country data from the US Treasury Department’s Treasury International Capital system released on 16 October. That is the most among the three Gulf holders the data list separately, ahead of Saudi Arabia’s 10.47 billion and the UAE’s 6.53 billion. The buying lifted Kuwait’s holdings to 72.96 billion dollars at the end of August, 13.72 billion dollars or 23.15 percent more than a year earlier. Net purchases equal 96.6 percent of the recorded increase in holdings on our calculation, so transactions, not bond prices, drove the rise.
Buying, not price, built the book
August was the strongest month of 2026 so far. Holdings rose 3.72 billion dollars, or 5.38 percent, from July’s 69.23 billion. Net purchases came to 3.09 billion, the largest monthly figure since November 2025’s 4.10 billion, and all of it went into long-term securities (bonds and notes), where net buying reached 3.20 billion while the bill book was trimmed by 0.12 billion to 2.20 billion. Long-term holdings climbed 3.84 billion in the month, or 5.74 percent, to 70.76 billion dollars.
August also made it three monthly rises in a row. Since May’s 66.81 billion, holdings have added 6.15 billion dollars, or 9.20 percent, and net purchases over June, July and August total 6.04 billion on our calculation. Across the full 12 months, the table shows net buying in 9 months and net selling in September 2025, February 2026 and May 2026. The three selling months together came to 2.90 billion dollars, against 16.14 billion of buying in the other nine.
Valuation played a small part. The table’s valuation change on the long-term book totals 0.45 billion dollars over the 12 months, a fraction of the 12.54 billion of net long-term purchases, both summed from the monthly columns. In calendar 2026 so far, holdings are up 6.91 billion dollars, or 10.45 percent, from 66.05 billion at the end of December, and net purchases over the same 8 months came to 6.18 billion.
Kuwait’s US Treasury holdings and net purchases, by month ($m)
| Month | Holdings | Net purchases |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 59,426 | -112 |
| Oct 2025 | 60,668 | 833 |
| Nov 2025 | 64,845 | 4,095 |
| Dec 2025 | 66,052 | 2,248 |
| Jan 2026 | 66,269 | 666 |
| Feb 2026 | 65,594 | -2,247 |
| Mar 2026 | 66,509 | 1,541 |
| Apr 2026 | 67,557 | 711 |
| May 2026 | 66,808 | -536 |
| Jun 2026 | 68,818 | 1,800 |
| Jul 2026 | 69,234 | 1,155 |
| Aug 2026 | 72,957 | 3,088 |
Holdings at the end of each month. Net purchases are the table’s net US sales to residents of Kuwait, bills and long-term securities combined; a positive figure raises the foreign position. The data come mainly from US custodians and cannot attribute every holding to its true owner, so the series measures holdings recorded against Kuwait rather than the full portfolio of any single Kuwaiti institution. Source: US Treasury Department, Treasury International Capital Table 3, August 2026 release.
A larger slice of a flat foreign total
The August figure is the highest of the 80 month-ends in the country table, which starts in January 2020 at 41.94 billion dollars. The low point came in February 2023 at 39.14 billion. From there, holdings have risen 33.82 billion dollars, or 86.40 percent, on our calculation, and they stand 73.96 percent above the January 2020 level.
Kuwait’s holdings have grown much faster than foreign holdings as a whole. All foreign holdings of Treasury securities came to 9,331.65 billion dollars at the end of August, 0.89 percent more than a year earlier, so Kuwait’s share of the foreign total rose to 0.78 percent from 0.64 percent on our calculation. In August alone, net purchases by Kuwaiti residents equalled 5.1 percent of the 61.13 billion dollars of net foreign buying in the same table, on our calculation.
In short-dated paper Kuwait moved with the wider flow. The August release shows foreign residents cut their Treasury bill holdings by 47.8 billion dollars in the month, while foreign official institutions bought a net 18.1 billion of bonds and notes. Kuwait’s August followed the same split on a smaller scale: a small bill reduction alongside heavy long-term buying.
A long-term book beside Gulf peers
Kuwait keeps 96.99 percent of its holdings in bonds and notes, with bills at 3.01 percent. Across all foreign holders the long-term share is 84.81 percent on our calculation, and among the Gulf holders the table lists by name, Saudi Arabia’s is 79.88 percent and the UAE’s 43.43 percent. Kuwait’s long-term book rose 22.53 percent in the year to August, to 70.76 billion from 57.75 billion, and its bills rose 0.70 billion to 2.20 billion.
Gulf holders of US Treasury securities, August 2026
| Holder | Holdings ($m) | Net purchases, 12 months ($m) | Long-term share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | 141,234 | 10,469 | 79.88% |
| United Arab Emirates | 116,096 | 6,525 | 43.43% |
| Kuwait | 72,957 | 13,242 | 96.99% |
Holdings at end-August 2026. Net purchases summed over September 2025 to August 2026 from the monthly columns. Long-term share is bonds and notes as a share of total holdings, our calculation. Qatar, Oman and Bahrain are not listed separately in the table.
Kuwait has the smallest book of the three yet bought the most over the year: its 13.24 billion dollars of net purchases is 1.26 times Saudi Arabia’s and 2.03 times the UAE’s on our calculation. Kuwait’s share of the three countries’ combined holdings rose to 22.09 percent from 19.69 percent a year earlier.
Saudi Arabia’s holdings reached 141.23 billion dollars, 6.21 percent more than a year earlier. Its long-term book grew 2.58 billion in August to 112.82 billion, while bills fell to 28.42 billion, leaving the total 1.19 billion below July. The UAE added 5.96 billion dollars in August, a rise of 5.41 percent, to 116.10 billion, as its long-term holdings climbed 6.95 billion to 50.42 billion.
Why it matters: For Kuwait, the figures show sustained allocation to US government debt rather than a gain carried by bond prices: net buying in 9 of 12 months, 13.24 billion dollars in total, almost all of it in long-term securities (bonds and notes). Kuwait’s 96.99 percent long-term share stands well above the 84.81 percent foreign average, and Kuwait’s rising share of all foreign holdings shows its demand growing while the overall foreign total barely moves.
Outlook: The next release, covering September 2026, is scheduled for 18 November and is the next test of Kuwait’s buying momentum, after three straight monthly rises in holdings and 3.09 billion dollars of net purchases in August.
Sources: US Treasury Department, The Edge.
