After repeatedly blasting Janet Yellen last year over her department’s strategy for issuing federal debt, it’s now up to Scott Bessent to make the call on sales of Treasuries, with bond dealers conflicted over what he’ll do, writes Bloomberg News published by Financial Post.
In the past four straight so-called quarterly refunding plans, the Treasury has advised that it didn’t expect to increase issuance of longer-dated securities “for at least the next several quarters,” after a final bump up at the start of last year. Many dealers see that changing, in part because of past comments from Bessent, potentially watering it down to “a few” or “a couple” of quarters.
The former hedge fund manager, before he was picked by US president Donald Trump as Yellen’s successor, was one of a number of Republicans who charged Yellen with having artificially held down sales of longer-maturity Treasuries — which affect things like mortgage rates — to boost the pre-election economy. He also in August criticized the advance notice in the refunding statement as “the first time ever” the Treasury had offered forward guidance.