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Fed's QT pause, Treasury's debt plans may offer fleeting relief to US bonds

A potential slowdown of the Federal Reserve's balance sheet drawdown and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's assurance against imminent long-term debt hikes could offer relief in the near term to bond market jitters as fiscal concerns linger. Fed minutes from the January 28-29 rate-setting meeting released this week showed officials weighed a possible pause or slowdown of the Fed's balance sheet reduction, known as quantitative tightening (QT), as a binding government debt cap could complicate the central bank's ability to gauge market liquidity. Meanwhile, Bessent said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Thursday that, for now, expanding long-dated government debt issuance is not on the table.

Oil Falls to 2025 Low as Technicals Augment Ample Supply Outlook

(Bloomberg) -- Oil fell to the lowest closing price this year after the breach of a key technical level accelerated losses driven by the possibility of increased flows from Iraq, weakening the prospects of supply constraints that have gripped the market recently. Most Read from BloombergTrump Targets $128 Billion California High-Speed Rail ProjectTrump to Halt NY Congestion Pricing by Terminating ApprovalTrump Asserts Power Over NYC, Proclaims ‘Long Live the King’Airbnb Billionaire Offers Pre-Fa