Bessent says Treasury buyback operation could be more than $4 billion

[Zakana]

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Thursday that an accelerated buyback of government debt could be higher than the announced $4 billion.

In a live interview, Bessent said his department is going "make a market" in the longer-dated securities where yields have been surging lately. Treasury announced Wednesday that it would be doubling its scheduled $2 billion in buybacks of longer-dated government debt, sending yields sharply lower.

"We're going to increase the size of the buyback," he said. "I would note that it could be more than the 4 billion per issue."

The remarks caused a bit of easing in yields, though they had largely reversed the decline following Wednesday's announcement. The 30-year bond most recently was trading around 5.235%. The so-called long bond recently had been trading at levels not seen since prior to the global financial crisis in 2008.

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