Traders await Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s next move amid bond market turbulence

Scott Bessent pulled the biggest lever he’s publicly wielded as Treasury Secretary on August 19, doubling liquidity-support buybacks for longer-dated Treasuries to at least $4 billion per operation. The bond market said “thanks” and then promptly went back to panicking. The 30-year Treasury yield had surged to 5.27% before the announcement, a level the US hadn’t seen in 19 years. Bessent’s intervention briefly pushed yields lower, but by the following day, the 30-year was already back at roughly 5.24%. The buyback play and its limits The new buyback program targets 10- to 30-year bonds and is set to begin on September 9. By doubling the per-operation amount, the Treasury is essentially stepping in as a larger buyer in the parts of the curve where sellers have been most aggressive. Bessent went further than just the numbers, too. He told markets the $4 billion floor could be exceeded and referenced having a “big toolkit” at his disposal. The core issue isn’t liquidity. It’s the sheer volume of borrowing the US government needs to sustain. Gross national debt crossed $40.05 trillion on August 19, up from $39 trillion just five months earlier in March. That’s more than a trillion doll...