[1/16/20]The U.S. will begin issuing 20-year bonds in the first half of 2020 to expand the government’s borrowing capacity, according to a statement from the U.S. Dept. of the Treasury.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement, “We seek to finance the government at the least possible cost to taxpayers over time, and we will continue to evaluate other potential new products to meet that goal.”

The Treasury expects there will be “strong demand” from investors for the bonds which will be issued “in a regular and predictable manner in benchmark size.”

The Treasury Department had explored issuing 50-year, 100-year and floating-rate notes before settling on the 20-year.

More information on the launch of the 20-year bond will be announced Feb. 5, 2020 in the department’s quarterly funding statement.

Annual interest payments on the Federal debt are expected to grow from around $400 billion this year to more than $900 billion by 2029, according to Congressional Budget Office projections.

Interest rates on the 10-year benchmark U.S. note edged up to almost 1.81% Thursday.