Treasury Boosts Quarterly Borrowing Estimate

The U.S. government expects to borrow $232 billion in the October-December quarter, an estimate that's $45 billion more than previously projected, the Treasury Department said Monday. The increase in borrowing is due to a higher estimate for the cash balance at the end of December. Treasury now assumes an end of December cash balance of $200 billion, up from $140 billion previously. For the January-March quarter, Treasury expects to borrow $209 billion, assuming a cash balance of $100 billion. During the July-September quarter, Treasury issued $205 billion in net marketable debt and ended with a cash balance of $158 billion. The department will announce on Wednesday the sizes and terms of the auction it holds four times a year to finance part of the debt.