The Treasury Department said Monday that it will borrow $3 trillion during the current quarter to cover the massive cost of the federal government’s response to the coronavirus crisis.
KEY FACTS
Over the last two months, Congress has authorized more than $3 trillion in emergency stimulus spending via four packages of legislation designed to cushion the economic blow of the virus that has forced business closures, furloughs and layoffs on an unprecedented scale.
To come up with the cash to cover the stimulus measures, the Treasury plans to issue a jaw-dropping amount of debt.
The Treasury said the new debt will also cover tax revenue that has been delayed until June and an increase in the assumed end-of-June Treasury cash balance.
Last quarter, the Treasury borrowed about $500 billion, and it plans to borrow another $677 billion in the third quarter.
With interest rates near historic lows (10-year Treasury notes are currently yielding about 0.6%), it is relatively cheap for the government to borrow money.
The gold futures contract gained 0.4% on Friday, as it extended its uptrend following recent breakout above the short-term trading range and $1,800 price level. The yellow metal has reached the highest since August-September of 2011 once again following U.S. dollar sell-off, among other factors.
finance.yahoo.com/news/daily-gold-news-monday-july-121241743.html