US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks at his Senate confirmation hearing at the Capitol in Washington in January. [Reuters]
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks at his Senate confirmation hearing at the Capitol in Washington in January. [Reuters]

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent shrugged off concerns about turmoil in the US government bond market, saying worries over rising national debt and higher Treasury yields overlook the strength of the American economy and its fiscal outlook.

Reuters reported Sunday (local time) that Bessent, in an interview with the news agency, rebuffed growing alarm over federal debt levels and criticism of the Treasury's efforts to manage bond market volatility.

"First and foremost, I'm not sure where the bond market turmoil is," Bessent said, adding that the US bond market is "performing best" among major economies. He went on to say that "also importantly, we are growing," pointing to the economy's continued expansion despite a large fiscal deficit.

Bessent attributed rising energy prices and inflationary pressure stemming from the Iran conflict to upward pressure on interest rates, and said he expected those factors to ease over time.

He also shrugged off criticism from some central bank policymakers who argued that the Treasury's decision to expand its bond buyback program had distorted markets or departed from the US Treasury market's tradition of prioritizing predictable operations. Bessent said the surge in the 30-year Treasury yield to its highest level in 19 years had been disconnected from economic fundamentals.

"I don't think I can change the equilibrium price. My job is to slow things down and make sure markets don't move in a disorderly fashion," he said.

Meanwhile, the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note climbed above 4.75 percent during trading Monday, its highest level in 19 months since January last year.


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