Treasurys mixed
Government plans to offer $75 billion in debt next week, less than expected.
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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Treasury prices turned mixed Wednesday after the government announced plans to auction $75 billion in U.S. debt next week.
The Treasury will offer $37 billion in 3-year notes on Aug. 11, $23 billion in 10-year notes on Aug. 12 and $15 billion in 30-year bonds on Aug. 13.
Analysts had expected the U.S. to announce a $77 billion offering, according to MF Global.
The government has offered record amounts of debt in recent months as it seeks to fund a $1.8 billion budget deficit and maintain its economic rescue efforts.
Last month, the U.S. sold a record $200 billion worth of shorter term debt.
The Treasury also said it expects to reach its $12.1 trillion debt ceiling some time in the fourth quarter.
"We will continue to work with Congress to make sure that the debt limit is raised in a timely and orderly manner going forward," said Matt Rutherford, a deputy assistant Treasury secretary, at a press conference in Washington.
The onslaught of new issues has raised concerns that demand for U.S. debt could be overwhelmed and that investors may start demanding higher rates, hindering the government's ability to fund its activities.
The Treasury said its auction schedule will be "sufficient" to meet the government's borrowing needs. However, it warned that the size of U.S. debt offerings will continue rising in a "gradual manner" over the near term.
"We continue to be very pleased with how our auctions are going," Rutherford said. "Demand is strong," he said, adding that "we've seen a healthy array of investors come in both domestically and internationally."
TIPS: The Treasury also said it will gradually increase its issuance of Treasury Inflation Protected Securities, or TIPS, in the coming months.
Fixed-income assets such as government bonds are highly inflation-averse because rising prices make the securities less valuable. But the principal of TIPS rises and falls with consumer prices, which provides some protection against inflation.
The decision to issue more TIPS comes in the wake of high-level talks last week between the United States and China, which expressed concern about the stability of its massive holdings of dollar-denominated assets.
Treasury officials declined to comment on the role China played in the decision to increase TIPS issuance but said demand for the product has been strong.
"We are constantly getting feedback on our debt management strategy," Rutherford said. "It shouldn't be a surprise that we're talking to a whole range of market participants."
Borrowing estimates: On Monday, the Treasury lowered its borrowing expectations for the third quarter and said it had borrowed less than expected in the second quarter.
The Treasury said it plans to borrow $406 billion in the third quarter, which is $109 billion less than it had expected in April.
The decrease was "primarily related to cash balance adjustments and lower outlays" associated with the government's economic stimulus efforts, the Treasury said.
The Treasury said it borrowed $343 billion in the second quarter and finished the quarter with a cash balance of $318 billion. The borrowing was $18 billion less than expected, partly due to repayments of bank bailout funds, the Treasury said.
Bond prices: The benchmark 10-year note was down 10/32 to 95-15/32 and yielded 3.67%, down from 3.68% Tuesday. Bond prices and yields move in different directions.
The 30-year bond fell 1-20/32 to 94-29/32 and its yield jumped to 4.56%.
The 2-year note rose 1/32 to 99-19/32, and its yield was 1.19%.
The yield on the 3-month note was 0.18%. 
