Bessent announces move to buy back more US debt after days of bond market pain
The action by Secretary Scott Bessent comes amid a selloff of longer-term U.S. government debt.
The Treasury Department announced on Wednesday that it plans to buy back more of its own bonds, a move aimed at countering a selloff in longer-term U.S. debt that threatens to push up interest rates for mortgages and consumer loans. The department will "at least double" the size of its buybacks, which had previously been capped at $2 billion per operation.
Effective from September 9 to November 4, the new ceiling will be at least $4 billion per buyback. This decision comes as several factors have been driving up yields on longer-term debt to their highest levels since 2007. These include worries over the ongoing conflict with Iran, growing competition for financing from those building AI infrastructure, and widening government deficits.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent initiated this move, as has his department's recent joint intervention with Japan to support the yen, which had traded at its weakest level against the dollar in nearly four decades since January. Bessent had previously cautioned that turmoil in Japanese government bonds was impacting the Treasury market, and the department has also hinted at the possibility of issuing less longer-term debt in future quarters.
Written by urgent.news from Politico EU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
