Recession of 1953

It has been described by James L. Sundquist, a staff member of the Bureau of the Budget and speechwriter for President Harry S. Truman, as "relatively mild and brief.

In 1951, there was a post-Korean War inflationary period and later in the year more funds were transferred into national security.

Further inflation was expected into 1952 and the Federal Reserve set in motion restrictive monetary policy.

During this time, the Treasury also lengthened the maturity of the national debt and pursued flexible interest rate policies.

Alongside these policies, the Treasury also began to do debt refunding, which only increased interest rates further and subsequently issued a low percentage bond.