Milan, 15 June (LaPresse) – In April, general government debt fell by 2.9 billion compared with the previous month, standing at 3,155.3 billion. This was announced by the Bank of Italy, which noted that the decrease reflects a reduction in the Treasury’s cash holdings (down 21.6 billion to 42.4 billion), partially offset by general government borrowing requirements (16.6 billion) and the effect of discounts and premiums on issuance and redemption, the revaluation of inflation-indexed securities and changes in exchange rates (2.1 billion). With regard to the breakdown by sub-sector, the decrease in debt is attributable to that observed for central government (3.2 billion), partly offset by the increase in local government debt (0.3 billion). The debt of social security funds remained unchanged. The average residual maturity of the debt – unchanged from the previous month – stood at 7.9 years. The share of debt held by the Bank of Italy continued to decline, standing at 17.3% (from 17.6% in the previous month). In March (the latest month for which this data is available), the share held by non-residents had fallen to 35.2% (from 35.4% in the previous month), whilst the share held by other residents (mainly households and non-financial corporations) rose to 14.5% (from 14.2% in the previous month).