The U.S. Treasury has more than just the Federal Reserve in its corner as it battles to contain the cost of financing the nation’s record budget deficit.
American money-market funds -- a harbor for the assets of retirees and companies -- have bought the brunt of the roughly $2.2 trillion in bills the government has sold to raise cash for economic stimulus amid the pandemic. The Fed has bought almost none, instead hoovering up hundreds of billions of dollars of notes and bonds.
It’s the latest case of domestic private investors stepping up in the face of a decade-long retreat in foreign demand, which may struggle to rebound significantly given the U.S.’s diminished yield advantage. Of course, Treasuries will always benefit from their premier haven status: Last week’s 10-year auction sold at a record low yield. But with the U.S. issuing a mountain of debt across maturities, the appetite of homegrown buyers is crucial.
“If the U.S. money-fund industry wasn’t so large, there’d be some possibility that the market wouldn’t be able to absorb all the new Treasury issuance that we’ve seen in such a short period,” said Peter Yi, director of short-duration fixed income and head of credit research at Northern Trust Asset Management.
The government is on track to issue an unprecedented wave of nearly $5 trillion in net new debt in 2020 to plug an exploding budget gap. Assets in U.S. money-market funds have surged as well. They hold a near-record $4.7 trillion as investors have sought shelter amid uncertainty over the pandemic’s economic toll.
“Treasury bills are an attractive option for us,” said Kevin Gaffney, chief investment officer of money markets at Fidelity Investments, which oversees $3.3 trillion. “They’re very liquid, safe and their yields have been attractive relative to other government products such as agencies and repo.”
March Pullback
But domestic demand doesn’t protect the bond market from broader volatility. March delivered a taste of what happens when investors pull back. Foreigners unloaded a record amount of Treasuries -- almost $300 billion.
The Fed stepped in to calm markets as yields soared with investors globally rushing to raise liquidity. The central bank launched a plan to buy $75 billion of Treasuries a day temporarily. It’s now purchasing $80 billion a month, and is set to buy $2.5 trillion of Treasuries this year.
“We saw what happened in March -- yields did rise when foreigners were selling, and then we saw the Fed step in, and the Fed bought more than the rest of the world sold,” said Brad Setser, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a former economist at the Treasury.
China, the second-largest foreign holder of U.S. government debt, has been shrinking its pile. And for foreign investors broadly, Treasuries may not be attractive hedged or unhedged. The 10-year yield is now about 60 basis points higher than its Japanese counterpart, for example. The gap was above 300 basis points in 2018.