US Treasury's Bessent says bond yields reflect 'global issues'

U.S. bond yields have risen despite recent Treasury buybacks of longer-term debt that Bessent has described as a way to inject liquidity and to counter the rise in yields, or at least slow it down.

Bessent told lawmakers the buybacks were a success and underscored U.S. credibility.

"There is a counterfactual of what would it have done -- and we then proceeded to have the two most successful Treasury auctions that we've had in 20 years," Bessent told the congressional hearing. "Since President Trump has come in, (the U.S. bond market) has been the best-performing bond market in the developed world."

He also defended the Treasury's joint intervention with Japan to shore up its currency, saying the U.S. did it to signal support for Japanese policies.

Several Democratic lawmakers pressed Bessent on the state of the economy and rising inflation -- tying it to the Iran war and the run-up in global oil prices. Bessent blamed inflation on the Biden administration, and insisted Americans are better off under Trump.