WASHINGTON -- China sold US Treasurys in August, reducing its net holdings but remaining the largest foreign holder, Dow Jones Newswires reported citing the US Treasury Department.

Overall, many investors were net buyers of long-term US securities in August according to the monthly Treasury International Capital report (TIC).

China's holdings fell $36.5 billion to $1.137 trillion, the biggest dollar- selloff this year, following net buying of more than $8 billion in July.

Analysts caution the data may not reflect the full spectrum of China's activity in the market, however. For example, analysts say China uses London as a proxy for some of its US dealings.

Among all investors, net purchases of US Treasury notes and bonds totaled $60.13 billion, compared with net buying of $15.54 billion in July. Private investors bought a net of $70.07 billion in Treasury notes and bonds, after buying a net of $1.51 billion the previous month.

The closely watched figure of net long-term securities transactions showed total buying of $57.9 billion in long-term US securities in August, after purchases of $9.1 billion the month before.

The monthly Treasury report highlights cross-border acquisitions of securities with maturities of more than one year including nonmarket transactions such as stock swaps and principal repayment on asset-backed securities.

US data released last week showed the trade gap narrowed in August with both imports and exports slipping marginally. The trade gap with China widened.