America's improving fiscal health is starting to be reflected inthe market for Treasuries.

As the Federal Reserve scales back its unprecedented bond buyingthis year, the ability of the world's largest debtor nation toattract investors underscores the strides the U.S. has made tostrengthen its creditworthiness after the worst financial crisissince the Great Depression. With the budget deficit at a seven-yearlow and household wealth rising to a record, investors from mutualfunds to foreign central banks are buying a greater share ofTreasuries at government auctions than ever before, as bond dealersthat are obligated to bid by a smaller share.

“This goes a long way to blunting the criticism of investing inthe U.S. dollar,” Wan-Chong Kung, a bond manager at Nuveen AssetManagement, which oversees more than $100 billion, said in an April2 phone interview from Minneapolis.