A buyback announcement includes par amount to be bought, a list of eligible securities as well as operation dates and times. Since 2015 the Treasury has been conducting small-sized test buybacks to maintain and manage its operational systems. The Treasury last conducted a non-test buyback in 2002 to optimize its debt profile during a time of budget surpluses.

The Treasury conducts buybacks to improve liquidity for certain maturities, limit variations in auction sizes, and reduce maturity peaks in outstanding debt. Buybacks also allow the Treasury to replace higher-yielding debt with lower-yielding debt thereby reducing the government’s interest payments. Non-test buybacks, if substantial, could mark a shift in the Treasury’s issuance policies and in turn effect relative yields across maturities.