Global debt hits record of near $353 trillion

LONDON, May 06 (Reuters): Investors are showing signs of diversifying away from U.S. Treasuries as global debt levels hit a record of nearly $353 trillion by end-March, a report by the Institute of International Finance published on Wednesday found.
IIF's quarterly Global Debt Monitor said that strengthening international demand for Japanese and European government bonds contrasted with broadly stable demand for U.S. Treasuries since the start of the year.
"These trends partly reflect diverging debt trajectories, which are increasingly influencing investor allocation decisions," Emre Tiftik, director at the IIF for Global Markets and Policy, wrote.
"Under current policies, the U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio is ?expected to continue rising, and recent Congressional Budget Office projections indicate a further deterioration in the long-term fiscal outlook."
This stood in contrast to debt ratios in the euro zone and Japan, which are projected to follow a more moderate path even with continued fiscal expansion, the report said.
However, U.S. corporate bond markets continue to boom, supported by AI-related issuance and strong overseas inflows.
Washington's borrowing push was one of the main drivers for global debt to rise by over $4.4 trillion in the first quarter, the fastest increase since mid?2025 and the fifth straight quarterly increase, the IIF report said.
Tiftik said the rise in US debt had been largely driven by government borrowing.