The US Government Plans To Pay Down Debt For The First Time Since 2007
In February, it estimated that it would need to borrow $103 billion over the same time period.
The Treasury cites higher tax receipts and lower spending outlays as reasons for paying down the debt. If the projections play out, it will be the first time since 2007 that the U.S. government has paid down debt during a quarter instead of adding to it.
For the third quarter, though, the Treasury estimates it will have to borrow $223 billion.
In the first quarter, it borrowed $349 billion.
Below is the full statement from the Treasury.
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TREASURY ANNOUNCES MARKETABLE BORROWING ESTIMATES
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of the Treasury today announced its current estimates of net marketable borrowing for the April – June and July – September 2013 quarters:
During the April – June 2013 quarter, Treasury expects to pay down $35 billion in net marketable debt, assuming an end-of-June cash balance of $75 billion. This borrowing estimate is $138 billion lower than announced in February 2013. The decrease in borrowing relates primarily to higher receipts, lower outlays, and changes in cash balance assumptions. [1]
During the July – September 2013 quarter, Treasury expects to issue $223 billion in net marketable debt, assuming an end-of-September cash balance of $80 billion.
During the January – March 2013 quarter, Treasury issued $349 billion in net marketable debt and ended the quarter with a cash balance of $79 billion. In February 2013, Treasury had estimated $331 billion in net marketable borrowing and assumed an end-of-March cash balance of $30 billion. The increase in the cash balance [1] was driven primarily by higher receipts and lower outlays.
Additional financing details relating to Treasury’s Quarterly Refunding will be released at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 1, 2013.