Long-term Yields

US Treasury

2026-08-21 00:40:27

Bessent says Treasury still has tools after bond buyback bounce fades, with Iran plan due Monday

U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent used a series of remarks on Aug. 20 to signal that Washington is not done trying to address pressure in the long end of the Treasury market. One day after the Treasury Department doubled the size of its liquidity-support buybacks for longer-dated bonds, the relief in yields lasted less than 24 hours. By Thursday, the 30-year Treasury yield had climbed back to 5.26%, while the 10-year touched 4.71%. Bessent said the Treasury’s toolkit remains large and indicated that a single long-bond buyback could exceed the newly announced $4 billion level. He argued that yields, especially in the 30-year sector, do not fully reflect U.S. economic fundamentals and described liquidity there as very poor. At the same time, he said President Donald Trump had directed him and Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought to lead a new fiscal consolidation plan that could be announced this weekend or early next week. He also reiterated support for a strong-dollar policy, said corporate bond issuance appears almost insensitive to yields because of expected returns from AI investment, and signaled that the U.S. will detail its Iran strategy at a press conference on Aug. 24. According to Chinese state media reports cited in the source material, Bessent said heavier economic pressure on Iran could reduce the likelihood of a large-scale military conflict.

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global bond m

2026-08-19 03:00:00

Long-Dated Sovereign Yields Surge Across the U.S., Europe and Japan as Global Bond Selloff Deepens

Global sovereign bond markets are going through one of their sharpest selloffs in decades, with long-dated yields rising under pressure from inflation concerns, fiscal expansion and a structural decline in demand from traditional buyers. In the U.S., the 30-year Treasury yield touched 5.33% this week, its highest level since 2007, while comparable yields in France, Germany, the U.K. and Japan also climbed to multi-year highs. According to figures cited by Wallstreetcn and Bloomberg-compiled data, the average yield on a benchmark basket of investment-grade sovereign debt has risen to about 4.5%, the highest since records began in 2015. The report says the move is being driven less by a jump in inflation expectations and more by higher real yields, as investors demand more compensation to hold long-duration debt. On the supply side, heavier issuance by governments and even tech companies is adding pressure, while on the demand side, pensions and other traditional long-bond buyers are becoming less dominant. Strategists and asset managers remain divided on whether the repricing now offers value or whether yields may need to rise further before returns on long-duration bonds become more attractive.

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