Bessent Downplays the Bond Market’s Latest Swing: It’s Not ‘Dire’

Yields on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds hit 20-month highs on Tuesday. Economists say reversing the trend will require lowering inflation.

Treasury Bessent

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pointed to the U.S.’s continued economic growth amid the Iran war, including the explosion of the artificial intelligence sector. Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

The Trump administration is struggling to assuage investors’ concerns over the U.S. economy.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury bond yield hit 4.798% on Tuesday morning, the highest rate for investors’ returns on the government debt in 20 months. The bond market’s new highs cap a summer of volatility for yields that have been climbing since the United States began attacking Iran in February. The stakes are high for the U.S. economy: High bond yields mean higher borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans and consumer credit.

Yields have worsened as investors brace for potential interest rate hikes this month and face uncertainty around President Donald Trump’s inflation-stoking foreign policy and the country’s ballooning debt, economists say.