US Treasury Plans to Borrow $1.37 Trillion Over Next 6 Months

The federal government plans to borrow $1.369 trillion over the next six months, the U.S. Department of Treasury announced on Oct. 28. According to the latest Marketable Borrowing Estimates, the Treasury expects to borrow $546 billion from October to December. This is $19 billion lower than the department’s July announcement, “largely due to a higher beginning-of-quarter cash balance partially offset by lower net cash flows.” Washington borrowed $762 billion from July to September, which was $22 billion more than projected. In the January to March quarter, the Treasury then plans to borrow $823 billion, assuming an end-of-March cash balance of $850 billion. This three-month period potentially coincides with another round of debt-ceiling negotiations and expectations that Congress will raise or re-suspend the debt limit....