US Treasury Buyback Plan Details Due Wednesday as Bessent Tells FX Traders: “I’m the House Now”

The U.S. Treasury is set to announce the size of its long-dated Treasury buyback operation on Wednesday. According to Sina Finance, the previously announced total buyback size was at least $4 billion, while analysts said the actual amount could be raised sharply. Treasury is expected to disclose the scale of the buyback operation announced on August 19 at around 11 a.m. The move is part of a broader policy aimed at pressuring Treasury yields and keeping markets orderly. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told foreign-exchange traders this week, “I’m the house now. If you want to bet against me, be my guest.” He made the remarks on Tuesday during a speech at Southern Methodist University while discussing Treasury’s parallel steps to support the yen. According to Sina Finance, Treasury said it would buy back at least $4 billion of outstanding long-dated bonds, with a focus on 10-year and 20-year securities. That amount is twice the size of a regular buyback operation. Liteson-ICAP analysts wrote in a report this week that the additional scale of the buyback remains highly uncertain, but the chance of further expansion is rising. They said the market broadly expects an initial size of $5 billion to $6 billion, with a larger amount also possible. Since the buyback plan was announced, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield has risen by about 10 basis points, or 0.1 percentage point. The 30-year Treasury yield has also edged higher, though it remains below 5.3%.