Bond yields rose slightly on Thursday morning after falling sharply in the previous session after the Treasury Department said it would significantly expand bond buybacks to shore up long-term debt.
yield of 30 year US bond The stock price, the main focus of accelerated share buybacks, rose 3 basis points to 5.2256%.
yield 10 year US bond The index, a key benchmark for mortgages, auto loans and credit card debt, rose 1 basis point to 4.6723%. yield of 2 year Treasury billwhich more closely follows the Fed’s short-term interest rate decisions, was last seen holding steady at 4.1727%.
One basis point is equal to 0.01%, or one-hundredth of 1%, and yield and price are inversely proportional to each other.
The Treasury Department, led by Secretary Scott Bessent, announced Wednesday it will double the size of its bond buybacks, primarily at the long end of the yield curve.
The move sent yields plummeting, with the 30-year Treasury yield dropping more than 10 basis points on the day and the 10-year Treasury yield dropping more than 6 basis points, reversing gains from earlier this week. U.S. Treasury yields have risen sharply since June, reaching levels not seen since before the 2008 global financial crisis.
Global government bond yields also fell.
The historic announcement comes as total U.S. government debt has reached more than $40 trillion, more than double the level it was a decade ago.
Meanwhile, traders were also digesting the latest Federal Open Market Committee minutes for July, released on Wednesday. Economic data released after the meeting showed that inflation remained above the Fed’s 2% target, but that prices were rising modestly on a monthly basis.
