WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday said it plans to borrow less in the first quarter of this year than it previously forecast.

In a statement, Treasury said it would borrow $367 billion during the January-March quarter, $22 billion less than its previous estimate, assuming an end-March cash balance of $400 billion.

It said the reduction in borrowing was due to changes in fiscal projections in which a lower cash deficit was “somewhat offset” by a lower beginning quarter cash balance.

In October, Treasury said it expected to issue $389 billion in net marketable debt in the January-March period.

Treasury said it expects to pay down $56 billion during the April-June quarter, assuming an end-June cash balance of $400 billion.

It borrowed $330 billion through credit markets in the Oct-Dec quarter of last year, ending the period with $404 billion in cash.

Additional details of Treasury’s quarterly refunding will be announced at 08:30 a.m (1230 GMT) on Wednesday.

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