US Treasury bond auctions

According to Bloomberg:

Feb. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Treasuries fell for a third straight week after the government’s announcement of a record $67 billion in note and bond sales overshadowed the biggest monthly decline in payrolls since 1974.

Yields on the benchmark 10-year note touched the highest in more than two months as the government set the auctions for next week and concern mounted that debt sales will damp demand. President Barack Obama lobbied lawmakers to pass his economic recovery plan, which may cost about $900 billion. Treasuries lost money this year amid concern government borrowing will skyrocket.

“Supply accommodation is the one thing that has been driving the market over the last week,” said David Ader, head of U.S. interest-rate strategy at Greenwich, Connecticut-based RBS Greenwich Capital Markets, one of 17 primary dealers that trade with the Federal Reserve. “It will be the story for the week to come, and the next couple of weeks. The market is nervous about the auctions and anxious about buyers.”

The U.S. will sell $32 billion in three-year notes on Feb. 10, $21 billion in 10-year notes Feb. 11 and $14 billion in 30- year bonds Feb. 12, the Treasury Department said Feb. 4 in a statement on its quarterly refunding of long-term debt.

The department will issue seven-year notes later this month for the first time since 1993, and plans to boost the frequency of 30-year bond sales, the Treasury said. Officials are weighing the “reintroduction or establishment” of other securities.

The government will need to auction $493 billion in debt this quarter, 34 percent more than initially projected, the Treasury said on Feb. 2. It will probably borrow as much as $2.5 trillion during the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, compared with $892 billion in notes and bonds it sold the prior 12 months, according to primary dealer Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

The sales are the government’s response to a surging budget shortfall. Treasury’s primary dealers projected a $1.6 trillion deficit for 2009, according to the results of a survey released Feb. 2. That’s more than triple the record set last year.