Jan 17 (Reuters) - Foreign holdings of U.S. Treasuries

rose in November but held below a record high reached in

September, as China increased its portfolio of U.S. debt, data

from the Treasury Department showed on Friday.

Holdings of U.S. Treasuries rose to $8.635 trillion in

November from $8.583 trillion in October. Holdings had risen as

high as $8.672 trillion in September.

Japan's Treasuries holdings decreased to $1.099 trillion

from $1.102 trillion the previous month. Japan remains the

largest foreign holder of U.S. Treasury securities. China, which

is No. 2, increased its holdings to $768.6 billion from $760.1

billion in October.

Treasury yields surged heading into the Nov. 5 U.S.

elections as traders bet that Republican electoral victories

would lead to policies that boost growth and potentially

inflation.

Republicans won control of the U.S. House of Representatives

and the Senate, and Republican President-elect Donald Trump is

due to be sworn in on Monday.

Treasury yields eased in the second half of November before

climbing again, with benchmark 10-year yields

reaching a 14-month high earlier this week.