The Treasury Department will need to borrow $361 billion in the current April-June quarter, a record amount for the second quarter of the year, it said on Monday.

By borrowing this quarter, the government would have borrowed for three quarters in a row. For which, records have been set for each.

Treasury also estimated it will need to borrow $515 billion in the July-September quarter, down slightly from the $530 billion borrowed during the year-ago period. The all-time high of $569 billion was set in the October-December period.

The huge borrowing needs reflect the soaring costs of the $700 billion financial rescue program and the recession, which is nearing a record as the longest in the post World War II period.

The slump has cut sharply into tax revenue and boosted government spending for benefit programs such as unemployment insurance and food stamps.

An annual budget deficit for the year ended September 30 is expected to total $1.75 trillion. This deficit is nearly four times the amount set last year of $454.8 billion.

To cover the government's heavy borrowing needs, Congress in February boosted the limit for the national debt to $12.1 trillion as part of the legislation that enacted President Barack Obama's $787 billion economic stimulus program.

The national debt now stands at $11.1 trillion.