Rising bond yields this week prompted the U.S. Treasury Department to double its buybacks of longer-term bonds, aiming to lower the 10-year Treasury yield and ease mortgage costs. The relief was temporary: the 10-year yield returned to 4.74% on Friday, matching its highest level in more than a year. The move comes as Treasurys face stronger competition from overseas government bonds, including Japanese 30-year bonds above 4%, U.K. bonds at 5.81% and German bonds at 3.76%, compared with 5.27% for a comparable U.S. bond. Higher yields can benefit savers but make mortgages, credit cards and auto loans more expensive, potentially weighing on consumer spending and riskier assets such as stocks, gold and cryptocurrencies. They also increase the federal government’s borrowing costs: U.S. debt has surpassed $40 trillion, while interest payments reached $931 billion during the first 10 months of the fiscal year. Strategists say yields have risen globally, but not yet at a pace indicating a bond-market panic or debt tipping point.