Bessent dared the markets to ‘bet against’ him. Bond traders did — and appear to be winning.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appears to be losing a tug-of-war with the bond markets he is also trying to influence.

In an effort to tamp down on longer-term interest rates and lower the government’s cost of borrowing, Bessent has resorted to an old playbook for tinkering with the bond market and its $30 trillion of U.S. debt backed by the full faith and credit of the United States.

But rather than fall in line, bond traders have taken the opposite side of the Trump administration’s trade, extending a sell-off of U.S. Treasurys and pushing interest rates to multiyear highs.

Now, the Trump administration may be running out of moves.

It all began last month, when Bessent made a surprise move and promised to “at least double” the government’s typical repurchases of government debt.

The administration hoped the announcement would stir more demand for bonds and lower market pricing on interest rates. That, in theory, would have reduced the cost for the U.S. government to pay its bills, as the nation’s debt crossed the $40 trillion mark.

In tandem with moves to stop the Japanese yen’s depreciation against the U.S. dollar, the messaging from the Treasury Department was clear: It wanted…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business