FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

The Treasury Department announced today that it expects net borrowing of marketable debt to total $117 billion in the October – December 2003 quarter.  The projected cash balance on December 31 is $35 billion.  In the last quarterly announcement on July 28, 2003, Treasury announced that it expected net borrowing to total $126 billion with an end-of-quarter cash balance of $45 billion.  This decrease is due to higher receipts and lower outlays.  The lower projected cash balance on December 31 offsets the lower cash balance at the beginning of the quarter and therefore does not impact net marketable borrowing this quarter.

Treasury also announced that it expects net borrowing of marketable debt to total $160 billion in the January – March 2004.  The projected cash balance on March 31 is $20 billion.

During the July – September 2003 quarter, Treasury’s net marketable borrowing totaled $82 billion and the cash balance on September 30 was $35 billion.  On July 28, Treasury announced that it expected net marketable borrowing to total $104 billion with a cash balance of $45 billion.  The decrease in borrowing is primarily attributable to higher receipts, lower outlays, and the lower end-of-quarter cash balance, partially offset by lower net issues of State and Local Government Series securities.

Additional financing details relating to Treasury’s Quarterly Refunding will be released at 9:00 A.M. on Wednesday, November 5.