The U.S. Treasury scrapped plans to pay down debt between April and June because it now considers it prudent for the government to hold a bigger cash buffer, an official at the department said on Monday.
The official, who spoke to journalists in a briefing but was not authorized to be named, said the policy decision followed the advice of an advisory committee that recommended keeping more cash on hand in order to weather unforeseen disruptions to market functioning.
The Treasury now expects to borrow $59 billion in net marketable securities during the April-June period. Previously, the Treasury had said it would pay down $7 billion in debt.
The change will leave $260 billion in government coffers at the end of June. Previously, the Treasury had forecast ending the period with $150 billion in cash.
The federal government plans to borrow $66 billion in the July-September period.