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MNI POLICY: US Treasury Shifts to Longer-Dated Debt Offerings

Next week's refunding is USD112B (USD48B 3Y, USD38B 10Y, USD26B 30Y)

By Malek Jamal via Unsplash

Treasury Department

WASHINGTON (MNI)

The U.S. Treasury will increase debt auctions by USD132 billion and shift financing to longer-dated securities as the department adjusts to pay for the ballooning deficit, and is keeping extra cash on hand as Congress debates further stimulus.

The department announced Wednesday it would sell USD112 billion in notes and bonds next week, as part of its regular quarterly refunding, up from USD96 billion in the last quarter.

The department will auction USD48 billion in 3-year Treasury notes on August 11 and USD38 billion in 10-year notes on August 12. The government will also sell USD26 billion in 30-year bonds on August 13.

"In the coming quarters, Treasury anticipates borrowing needs to moderate somewhat, but remain elevated on a historical basis, in part due to an assumption regarding additional legislation," Brian Smith, Treasury's deputy assistant secretary for federal finance, said in a statement.

The announcement comes two days after Treasury said it will borrow USD947 billion this quarter, with an additional USD1.216 trillion in the fourth quarter.

INCREASED AUCTION SIZES

Treasury intends to increase auction sizes across all nominal durations from August to October, with larger additions to 7-year, 10-year, 20-year, and 30-year bonds.

Over the next three months, Treasury anticipates increasing the sizes of the 2-, 3-, and 5-year note auctions by USD2 billion per month.

Treasury anticipates increasing the size of the 7-year note auction by USD3 billion per month over the next three months.

Treasury also announced increases of USD6 billion to both the new and reopened 10-year note auction sizes, and increases of USD4 billion to both the new and reopened 30-year bond auction sizes starting in August.

The anticipated changes in Treasury auction sizes are presented in the table below in USD billion:
2-year3-year5-year7-year10-year20-year30-yearFRN
July-204846494429171924
August-205048514738252622
September-205250535035222322
October-205452555335222326

Treasury also intends to modestly increase auction sizes for floating-rate notes while leaving auction sizes for inflation-protected securities unchanged.

FATTER CASH BALANCE

The swelling deficit and the uncertainty of its path has led Treasury to increase cash on hand. That balance was USD1.75 trillion on August 3 after reaching a record USD1.83 trillion July 27. Those figures are up from USD400 billion in early March.

Analysts have said a key assumption in bill forecast is the Treasury's cash balance, adding that they expect it to drop sharply in the third quarter.

"While Treasury expects its cash balance to decline over the quarter, the extent of the decline will depend on several uncertain factors, including the pace of outflows under current law and the potential for additional legislation." the department said in a statement.

Congress continues to debate another spending measure that could be USD1 trillion or more.

MNI Washington Bureau | +1 202-371-2121 | evan.ryser@marketnews.com
MNI Washington Bureau | +1 202-371-2121 | evan.ryser@marketnews.com

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