Whats Behind Bessents Boasts About the U.S. Bond Market

In response to worries about rising interest rates and declining affordability for Americans, Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary, has repeatedly boasted about the strength of the U.S.bond market.

He told Congress last week that it was the “best-performing bond market in the developed world.”But for many retirees with their savings sunk into U.S.bonds, or home buyers looking to take out a mortgage, the market probably doesn’t feel so strong.

Longer-term Treasury yields, which underpin borrowing costs throughout the economy, have risen to a nearly two-decade high, meaning the price, or value, of those Treasuries has fallen.So how exactly is Mr.Bessent measuring success?Mr.

Bessent, according to a senior Treasury official, is making his assessment by comparing increases in 10-year Treasury yields with the moves of similar maturity bonds issued by Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Japan.From the start of the current Trump administration through the day Mr.Bessent made his comment, during a House committee meeting on Sept.

14, the 10-year Treasury yield rose less than those five other countries’ comparable 10-year yields.Looking at more recent performance, the United States is not the outperformer.Since the start of the year, Germany has had the best-performing bond market.

And during the month preceding Mr.Bessent’s comment, Japan experienced the smallest rise in yields.Look beyond the five countries named by the Treasury official, and the U.S.

performance is much more mixed, especially in recent months.However, it remains broadly accurate that since the start of Mr.

Trump’s second term, the 10-year Treasury yield has risen less than most of its peers.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we...