Foreign holdings of US Treasuries rise in August; China holdings drop — data

NEW YORK, Oct 16 (Reuters) — Foreign holdings of U.S. Treasuries edged higher in August after two months of declines, data from the Treasury Department showed on Friday, led by gains in holdings from the UK and Canada. Holdings of U.S. Treasuries rose to $9.331 trillion in August, from $9.248 trillion in the previous month. Compared with a year earlier, Treasuries owned by foreigners were up less than 1%. China's holdings, however, dropped to $590.7 billion, the lowest since August 2008 (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss) ((gertrude.chavez@thomsonreuters.com; 646-301-4124)