Quarterly Refunding Preview: Another Increase In Coupon Auction Sizes, And The Launch Of Treasury Buybacks

The Treasury's last two Quarterly Refunding Announcements were both a doozy: the first one from July 31, sparked a powerful selloff in Treasuries, pushing yields above the resistance level, after the Treasury estimates much higher supply than the street had expected (more here "Debt Tsunami Begins: US To Sell $1 Trillion In Debt This Quarter, 2nd Highest In History, As Budget Deficit Explodes"); three months later on Nov 1, when yields blew out above 5%, the highest level in almost two decades, in its most recent QRA, the Treasury panicked and promptly reversed direction, estimating less refunding issuance than consensus had expected ($112BN vs $114BN), as well as a ramp up in Bill issuance to facilitate the drainage of the Reverse Repo facility and boost overall market liquidity by focusing on the short-end (more here "US Treasury Reveals Lower Than Expected Rate Of Debt Sales In Quarterly Refunding Plan; Yields Slide"). The result was a sharp drop in rates, which reversed the entire move higher since the Q3 QRA, and after 10Y yields dropped some 120bps they have since stabilized around 4.15%...

quarterly refunding preview another increase in coupon auction sizes and the launch of treasury buybacks

Which brings us to the latest Quarterly Refunding Announcement due this week, which along with the FOMC, Friday's payrolls report and the busiest week of Q4 earnings season (32% of market cap reports) including most of Mag 7, will be the highlight of the quarter.

Authored by Tyler Durden via ZeroHedge January 28th 2024