The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NASDAQ: TLT) — the world's biggest fixed-income fund — is heading toward its strongest daily gain in nine months, up about 1.5% Wednesday.
The catalyst is a one-two punch from Washington.
The Treasury announced it will at least double long-end buybacks to $4 billion per operation starting Sept. 9, supporting the 10-to-30-year sector.
Then the Fed minutes landed.
While some officials favored higher rates, the minutes showed no broad shift toward tighter policy. Instead, policymakers acknowledged that financial conditions had already tightened.
Yields on the 30-year Treasury fell by 9 basis points to 5.20%.
