Bessent weighs Treasury cash for bond buybacks after CNBC report

The Treasury secretary said the department had not bought any bonds yet and would keep regular auction plans through its November debt announcement.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the department had not bought any bonds after a report that it could use cash reserves to fund buybacks of older, higher-yielding securities.

Bessent said the Treasury would continue its regular bond-sale program and would not change auction sizes before the quarterly refunding announcement expected in November.

The Treasury General Account held $935 billion as of Aug. 20. Morgan Stanley estimated that $80 billion to $200 billion could be available for larger buybacks, depending on how excess cash is defined.

Treasury yields extended gains after the report, with the 10-year yield falling about four basis points to 4.69% at 1:57 p.m. in New York, Bloomberg reported.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the department had not bought any bonds after a report that it could use cash reserves to fund buybacks of older, higher-yielding securities.

Bessent said the Treasury would continue its regular bond-sale program and would not change auction sizes before the quarterly refunding announcement expected in November.

Treasury yields extended gains after the report, with the 10-year yield falling about four basis points to 4.69% at 1:57 p.m. in New York, Bloomberg reported.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.