Treasury Cuts Quarterly Borrowing Estimate

The U.S. government expects to borrow $155 billion in the January-March quarter, an estimate that is $54 billion lower than previously projected in November, the Treasury Department said Monday. The decrease in borrowing is due to changes in cash balance assumptions and lower outlays. Treasury now assumes an end of March cash balance of $100 billion. For the April-June quarter, Treasury expects to pay down $7 billion in net marketable debt assuming a cash balance of $150 billion. During the October-December quarter, Treasury issued $227 billion in net marketable debt and ended with a cash balance of $200 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.