Bessent Brushes Off Bond Market Sell-Off, Touts US Growth Prospects
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent downplayed the recent bond market sell-off, attributing it to short-term fluctuations. 'The US bond market has been the best performing bond market,' he said during a fireside chat at the G20 finance gathering in North Carolina.
Bond yields remained steady on Tuesday after renewed strikes in the Middle East, with the 10-year Treasury yield rising by 3 basis points to 4.788 per cent and the 30-year Treasury note yield increasing by 1 basis point to 5.259 per cent.
Bessent emphasized that US bond markets show low to down inflation expectations, describing it as a 'growth story.' Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh also spoke at the G20 conference, stating that he looked forward to learning more about other countries' growth prospects and highlighting the global economy's transition into a period of 'secular growth.'
The Treasury Department took steps to steady US bond markets by announcing it would double the size of its government debt repurchases. However, this move was criticized by US investor Stanley Druckenmiller, who called it 'a mistake far larger than $4 billion suggests' in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal.