A market that influences the cost of borrowing for mortgages, car loans and other consumer loans is behaving in ways that have economists worried, according to a report in the Associated Press.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also is concerned because on Aug. 19 he took the unusual step of doubling the federal government’s buybacks of longer-term bonds. It was a move that was meant to reduce the 10-year treasury yield, which is considered the centerpiece of the bond market, and lower mortgage costs.
Unfortunately, this step brought only temporary relief as the 10-year yield went back up to its yearly high point of 4.74% on Friday.
Upward pressure on the 10-year Treasury yield has been linked to the size of the U.S. government’s debt, which has reached the $40 trillion mark, and the war with Iran and its effect on oil prices and stubbornly high inflation.
