1. Early 2025: Initiated exchange rate inquiries, contacting banks to obtain yen quotes; the aim was to gauge market sentiment regarding the yen's exchange rate, preparing for subsequent intervention; this move surprised a former Japanese official.
2. June 2025: A single Treasury bond repurchase operation reached $10 billion, the largest in the Treasury's history; the goal was to improve liquidity in the Treasury market and cushion the decline in US Treasury bonds; the market generally interpreted this as paving the way for larger-scale repurchases later.
3. October 2025: Directly purchased Argentine pesos, exceeding $1 billion; the goal was to stabilize the Argentine peso exchange rate before the Argentine midterm elections on October 26; the Argentine peso, stocks, and bonds reversed their decline and rose across the board.
4. October 2025: Finalized a $20 billion currency swap framework agreement with the Central Bank of Argentina; the goal was to provide Argentina with more dollar liquidity as a "bridge to a better economic future." 5. November 2025: Statement indicated a gradual adjustment to the size of coupon-bearing bond auctions to avoid market chaos; the goal was to maintain stability in the bond market, adhering to the principle of "regularity and predictability"; this move was interpreted by the market as sending a stability signal, but the auction size was not immediately changed.
6. July 2026: Led the US in its first direct purchase of yen in nearly 30 years, through Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, selling euros and buying yen, amounting to $5 billion to $10 billion; the goal was to prevent excessive yen depreciation and to prevent Japan from selling US Treasury bonds to push up US Treasury yields; the yen quickly rebounded from 164 to around 157.
7. August 2026: The repurchase program for 10- to 30-year Treasury bonds will be "at least doubled" from $2 billion per transaction to $4 billion, effective September 9th; the goal is to lower long-term Treasury yields and curb the rise of the 30-year yield, which is approaching 5.3%; the 30-year yield fell by about 10 basis points at one point; all three major US stock indices closed higher; the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell to a three-month low at one point.
8. August 2026: Bessant continued to hint that the repurchase program could be further expanded; he considered using approximately $950 billion to $1 trillion in funds from the Treasury's General Account (TGA); the goal remains to further suppress long-term yields and eliminate market concerns about the source of repurchase funds; this move led to a slight decline in long-term Treasury yields.
