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Congress has effectively “kicked the can down the road” by raising the statutory debt limit sufficiently to meet Treasury obligations until December 3. This is by no means a solution to the problem, but rather just delays the inevitable uncertainty related to the debt “ceiling” drama that is likely to build as December approaches.
US Treasury bills (T-bills) are continuing to react to the ongoing uncertainty. Notably, we have observed a noticeable “cheapening” of T-bills scheduled to mature in December, creating a “hump” in the T-bill yield curve that moderates in late December and into January (Figure 1). In our view, this turn of events does not present an opportunity for bond investors to reach for incremental yield, as we believe they should instead be focused on preserving liquidity through their T-bill allocation.
In anticipation of the possibility of a technical debt default by the US government, T-bills with maturities falling shortly after the new December 3 deadline to raise the debt limit are commanding a…
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