US Treasury lowers its borrowing estimates for 1st quarter of 2026

The US Treasury Department announced Monday that it lowered its borrowing forecast for the first quarter of this year by $3 billion to $574 billion.

"The borrowing estimate is $3 billion lower than announced in November 2025, primarily due to the higher beginning-of-quarter cash balance, partially offset by lower projected net cash flows," the department said in a statement.

The statement also included an estimate of a cash balance of $850 billion at the end of March.

It noted that the Treasury Department is expected to borrow $109 billion in the second quarter of this year and that the cash balance at the end of June is projected to be $900 billion.

"During the October-December 2025 quarter, Treasury borrowed $550 billion in privately-held net marketable debt and ended the quarter with a cash balance of $873 billion," it said.

In its forecast announced last November, the Treasury Department had expected to borrow $569 billion in the last quarter of 2025, and the cash balance at the end of December was projected to be $850 billion.