Feds to buy up to $6 billion in Treasury bonds in move to ease borrowing costs

September 9, 2026 / 2:00 PM EDT / MoneyWatch

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that the agency will buy up to $6 billion in long-term government bonds as part of an effort to curb rising yields and ease borrowing costs.

The Treasury Department vowed last month to "at least" double its bond buybacks to $4 billion to prop up prices (bond yields. Higher Treasury yields raise borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, and can also weigh on stock prices,

"They are repurchasing bonds that have been around for a while and are a smaller part of the market, but the Treasury thinks this will constrain 20- to 30-year yields from rising and put downward pressure on 10-year yields too," Mike O'Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading, told CBS News.

Rising U.S. government debt is the main catalyst driving up bond yields, O'Rourke added. The national debt surpassed $40 trillion in August after doubling in less than a decade.

"If you want to get Treasury yields under control, you would tackle that issue. Instead, we are tinkering on the periphery of the market, and that's not a real solution," he said.

The 10-year Treasury rate, which typically affects…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/moneywatch/