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WASHINGTON - THE US Treasury said on Monday it would seek to borrow a record US$550 billion (S$813.4 billion) in the October-December period to help stabilise the financial sector hammered by the global credit crisis.
The fourth-quarter borrowing estimate was substantially higher than the US$408 billion announced in July, and is a record high for quarterly estimates, a Treasury official said.
'The increase in borrowing is primarily due to higher outlays related to economic assistance programmes, lower receipts, and lower net issuances of state and local government series securities,' the Treasury said in a statement.
The Treasury said the federal government had borrowed US$530 billion from the markets in the third quarter. Of that amount, US$300 billion was borrowed for the Federal Reserve's Supplementary Financing Programme, launched in mid-September in a bid to support the ailing economy.
In July the Treasury had estimated third-quarter borrowing at US$171 billion.
The escalation of worldwide financial turmoil in September and its growing negative impact on the US economy prompted US authorities to undertake an array of measures aimed at supporting banks and getting frozen credit flowing again.
At the same time, the credit squeeze reduced tax revenue from businesses and from households, which curbed spending in the face of rising unemployment and falling house values.
Since mid-September, the federal government has borrowed US$600 billion to bolster Fed resources. -- AFP
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