US Treasury to auction $92B in 3-month bills on August 31, temporarily draining market liquidity

The US Treasury is set to auction $92 billion in 3-month bills on August 31, continuing a weekly cadence that has held steady at that offering size since late June 2026. Settlement is scheduled for September 3, meaning billions of dollars will flow out of private markets and into government coffers right after the long weekend. For context, the Treasury’s general account balance at the Federal Reserve was sitting near $940 billion in late August, giving the government a substantial war chest as it manages its borrowing needs heading into the fall. What the last auction tells us The most recent 3-month bill auction, held on August 24, offered a useful snapshot of current demand dynamics. The high discount rate came in at 3.715%, translating to an investment rate of 3.803%. More telling was the bid-to-cover ratio: 3.08, up from 2.86 the prior week. That ratio measures how many dollars of bids come in for every dollar of bills on offer. Secondary market rates for 3-month bills have hovered around 3.71%. The Treasury has maintained the $92 billion offering size for its weekly 3-month auctions since June 29, 2026. The liquidity mechanics Noncompetitive tenders for the August 31 auction ...