Bessent at least doubles Treasury buybacks as $5 billion-$10 billion yen plan lingers

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has expanded the U.S. Treasury’s planned buybacks of longer-dated securities by at least double, after identifying a $5 billion to $10 billion purchase of Japanese yen as part of his month-start to-do list. Analysts have largely dismissed both moves as insufficient. The yen has recovered from its June slump against the dollar but is now roughly where it began the year, a return to market-perceived fair value that UBS’s Paul Donovan called hardly surprising. Long-dated Treasuries weakened after the buyback announcement but remain relatively elevated, prompting Evelyn Partners chief investment strategist Daniel Casali to say more intervention may be needed to cap long-end yields. Bessent said Treasury action will depend on the market response and argued that investors should focus on fundamentals rather than headlines during a quiet August period. The apparent tension with new Federal Reserve chairman Kevin Warsh is tempered by their weekly meetings and Bessent’s assurance that Treasury would adjust to any Fed balance-sheet runoff. Warsh has said the Fed should remain within its lane and avoid undermining its credibility by entering the Treasury’s policy domain.

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