WASHINGTON -- China's holdings of US Treasury securities rose for the fourth month in June, while Japan had kept cutting its holdings to the lowest level since 2013.

China's holdings of the treasuries rose about $900 million to $1.271 trillion in June, the latest data from the Treasury Department showed Monday.

China has increased its US treasuries holdings for four months in a row and remained the largest holder of US government debt.

Japan, which overtook China as the biggest foreign holder in February but fell back to the second place in March, cut its holdings by $17.8 billion to $1.197 trillion in June, the lowest since 2013. Japan's holdings have been falling for three consecutive months.

In June, overall foreign holdings of US Treasury securities rebounded to $6.175 trillion after falling for two months.