China upped its holdings of U.S. Treasury debt by US$7.6 billion in April, the first increase after five straight declines, the Treasury Department said Wednesday.

From last November to March this year, China cut its total holdings by US$30.4 billion. Despite the reduction, China remains the largest buyer of U.S. Treasury debt.

This latest increase brings total U.S. Treasury debt held by the People's Bank of China to US$1.1525 trillion.

Japan, the second largest foreign holder of U.S. Treasury debt, cut its holdings by US$1 billion last month, bringing its total down to US$906.9 billion.

Britain, the third largest holder, bought US$7.8 billion of U.S. Treasury debt in April, bringing its holdings up to US$333 billion.

Total foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury securities reached US$4.4891 trillion in April.

China also boosted its holdings of Japanese long-term debt last month by 1.33 billion yen, its largest purchase since January 2005.