China, Japan cut U.S. Treasuries holdings in June -data

NEW YORK, Aug 15 (Reuters) - China and Japan reduced their holdings of U.S. government debt in June as foreigners dumped the most Treasuries in a single month since late 2016, data from the Treasury Department showed on Wednesday.

Overseas investors sold $48.57 billion in Treasuries in June, compared with the $26.7 billion in purchases in May.

China’s holdings of U.S. government debt slipped to $1.179 trillion, the lowest level since February and down from $1.183 trillion in May.

Japan’s ownership of Treasuries decreased to $1.030 trillion in June, the lowest since October 2011. Its Treasuries stake totaled $1.049 trillion in May.

China and Japan are the two biggest foreign holders of U.S. government securities.

Meanwhile, foreign investors unloaded $27.033 billion in U.S. equities in June, following $26.58 billion in sales in May, Treasury data showed.

On the other hand, they purchased corporate bonds for a fifth consecutive month, adding $10.24 billion in June.

Overall, overseas investors bought $114.47 billion in U.S. assets in June, more than the $69.16 billion purchased in May. (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Dan Grebler)