The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) fell 1.3% to $81.16 by 10:30 a.m. Thursday, its lowest level since May 2004, as U.S. Treasury yields continued climbing. The 10-year yield closed at 4.943%, up from 4.836% Wednesday and its highest close since October 2023, bringing it close to 5% for only the second time since the 2008-09 financial crisis. The 30-year yield reached 5.36%, its highest level since 2004. The rise followed firm wholesale inflation data, higher oil prices and President Donald Trump's pledge to send $5,000 checks to Americans if Republicans retain Congress, a proposal that could add more than $1 trillion to the federal deficit. The Treasury bought about $5.2 billion of longer-term bonds Thursday, below its $6 billion maximum and below market expectations of roughly $8 billion to $10 billion. The operation was designed to improve liquidity and ease pressure on longer-dated yields but did not prevent a broader bond selloff. Higher Treasury yields also pushed the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate to 7.07% by Mortgage News Daily's measure, while Freddie Mac reported a weekly average of 6.76%, up from 6.71%. Brent crude rose 6.3% to $107.63 a barrel, and futures showed a 67.4% chance of a Federal Reserve rate increase the following week, up from 61% Wednesday. The S&P 500 fell 0.58%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.60% and the Russell 2000 dropped 1.04%.