Bessent's Bond Buybacks Fail to Calm Market Concerns

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been trying to calm the bond market by announcing plans to double the size of a bond buyback program, but so far it hasn't worked. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose back to 4.69% Thursday, nearly where it stood early Wednesday before Bessent's announcement.

The 30-year bond yield reached a 19-year high of 5.23% Thursday, down only slightly from Tuesday. Bessent said the Treasury will also announce a new effort to reduce the government's budget deficit possibly by Monday, but analysts are skeptical about its impact.

Gennadiy Goldberg, head of U.S. rates strategy at TD Securities, said reducing the deficit is mostly up to Congress, rather than the Treasury Department. He added that 'what we are seeing is the market is still a little bit skeptical that Treasury can and will be able to backstop some of these moves.'

The bond market is being pushed higher by concerns about government debt, heavy borrowing by tech firms, and the Federal Reserve's commitment to fighting inflation.