Explainer

Why 10-Year Yields Are on the Treasury Secretary’s Mind

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during an interview at the Treasury Department in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025.Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg
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Financial news is always awash in numbers, but there’s one figure that’s almost always more important than anything else: the yield on 10-year US Treasury notes, an important benchmark that helps price trillions of dollars in global assets.

On Feb. 6, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he sees it as a key metric and catalyst for the economy. The former hedge fund manager believes declines in 10-year Treasury yields — a trend he sees continuing to unfold — are a sign that bond investors are reacting positively to the Trump administration’s policies, which he sees sparking “non-inflationary growth.”