10-year Treasury yield jumps to highest since 2023 despite Bessent’s $6 billion bond buyback plan
Futures-options traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange’s NYSE American (AMEX) in New York City, U.S., Sept. 8, 2026.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
U.S. yields rose on Wednesday after the Treasury Department unveiled a debt buyback plan that’s triple the normal amount.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was up more than 3 basis points at 4.839%. The benchmark rate also hit its highest level since Nov. 1, 2023, when it reached a high of 4.935%.
The 30-year Treasury bond yield was also 3 basis points higher at 5.292%. The 2-year yield — typically more sensitive to near-term policy expectations — was trading up more than 1 basis point at 4.415%.
One basis point equals 0.01%. Bond prices move inversely to yields.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the department will buy back $6 billion of longer-date government debt. The news comes after Bessent announced the operation last month, saying the Treasury would at least double debt repurchases.
Yields moved higher despite the increased buyback as some on Wall Street believed the repurchases by Bessent would be even bigger. Peter Boockvar of The Boock Report said some on Wall Street believed the buyback would be as much as $7 or $8 billion.
“Treasury announced buybacks less than hoped for (or feared depending on your point of view),” according to Mizuho Securities. Bessent is “facing an uphill battle, in terms of trying to move against the general momentum of the market that is adjusting based on the fundamental backdrop.”
Yields also rose alongside oil prices. International benchmark Brent crude futures climbed above the $100-per-barrel mark for the first time since late July. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures also extended gains on Wednesday, adding more than 3% to trade at above $96 a barrel.
The ongoing rally comes amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, with conflict continuing between the U.S. and Iran. Tehran said Wednesday its forces had struck two American vessels and eight oil tankers in the Gulf in retaliation for the U.S. destroying five Iranian crude oil tankers.
“Rates and FX markets are facing an ever more complex environment, with the risks of high energy prices spilling over more broadly in inflation terms, but in turn also increasing the risks of growing headwinds to growth, and demand destruction,” Marc Ostwald chief economist and global strategist at London’s ADM Investor Services, said in a Wednesday note.