The US Treasury Department will lower its quarterly borrowing estimate to $574 billion.

The US Treasury Department has lowered its estimate of federal borrowing for this quarter, mainly because cash balances were higher at the beginning of the quarter but were partially offset by lower-than-expected net cash flows. In a statement on Monday, the Treasury Department said it now expects net borrowing of $574 billion for January to March, lower than the $578 billion estimated in November of last year. This estimate assumes a cash balance of $850 billion at the end of March, consistent with previous quarters. For April to June, the Treasury Department expects to borrow $1.09 trillion, aiming for a cash balance of $900 billion at the end of June. The Treasury Department began increasing the issuance of Treasury securities last month in order to provide funds for tax refunds at the start of the tax filing season in the United States. Treasury Secretary Scott Besent said he expects tax refunds in the first quarter to be between $100 billion and $150 billion. The latest forecast on Monday comes two days before the Treasury Department releases its so-called quarterly refunding statement.