The heavy accumulation of U.S. Treasury obligations by foreign monetary authorities is yet another hypothesis that has been offered. And, doubtless, those purchases have lowered long-term U.S. Treasury rates. But, given the depth of the market for long-term Treasury instruments, the Federal Reserve Board staff estimates that the effect of foreign official purchases has been modest.
Alan Bollard: A financial system that works for New Zealand Excerpt from an address by Dr Alan Bollard, Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, to the Financial Services Institute of Australasia, Wellington, 23 May 2006.