The U.S. government said today that it is bringing back the 30-year Treasury bond next year to help finance the national debt.

The Treasury Department said the first auction of the 30-year bond will take place in the first quarter of 2006, with auctions held twice a year.

“We believe this is a prudent debt management step that will continue to allow Treasury to finance the government’s borrowing needs at the lowest cost over time,” said Randal Quarles, the department’s undersecretary for domestic finance, in a release.

The U.S. stopped selling 30-year bonds in October 2001, which was the last year the government produced a budget surplus. The national debt now stands at US$7.8 trillion.

Currently, the U.S. government’s longest maturity is a 20-year inflation-indexed bond.

Today’s announcement was widely expected after the department said earlier this year it was considering reviving the long bond.