Bessent Defends $4 Billion Treasury Buybacks as 30-Year Yields Rebound
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Aug 20
Bessent Defends $4 Billion Treasury Buybacks as 30-Year Yields Rebound
3 articles · Updated · CNBC · Aug 20
Summary
Thursday's CNBC appearance failed to steady the Treasury market for long, with long-dated yields rebounding after Scott Bessent said the intervention was meant to improve liquidity, not cap rates.
The skepticism followed Treasury's move to at least double long-end buybacks from early September; analysts said a program that could exceed $4 billion is too small to shift such a vast market durably.
Critics also said the rollout hurt credibility because the buyback change came outside the regular refunding process and was announced in wording that looked rushed.
Bessent said Treasury still has a "big toolkit," including larger buybacks, smaller long-term auctions, maturity shifts and possible coordination with the Federal Reserve.
Behind the pressure are structural and fiscal forces — shrinking central-bank demand, more hedge-fund buying, a deficit near 6% of GDP and U.S. debt above $40 trillion.