The U.S. household sector bought $147 billion of Treasury securities in the first quarter, the Federal Reserve said in its quarterly flow of funds report. That pushes Americans’ holdings of Treasury debt to $796 billion, the highest level since 1999. It also vaults U.S. households past Japan to the No. 2 position among holders of full faith and credit federal government debt, according to the flow of funds data and Treasury’s own figures.
