The US Treasury on Tuesday cut some of its benchmark Treasury security invite tenders for the second week in a row as it seeks to retain the ability to borrow under the legal debt limit. The Treasury said it planned to issue a four-cycle Treasury security of $85 billion on Thursday, down $5 billion from the previous Treasury security offering of the same maturity. The Treasury also announced that it would issue an eight-cycle Treasury security of $80 billion on Thursday, also down $5 billion. Wednesday's regular 17-cycle Treasury security invite tenders were lowered to $60 billion, down $2 billion. In an effort to preserve its ability to borrow under the statutory debt ceiling, this is the second time the Treasury has reduced its issuance of treasury securities, and it is likely to be one of a series of reductions.