Polygraph

The 10-year bond yield rose from 4.8% to 5.04% following the Treasury Secretary's intervention.

Posted by The MeidasTouch Podcast, Checked

Polygraph verdictMixed
Sources
1 contradict2 support1 context
Said
1 time·
Confidence
60%
The MeidasTouch PodcastSep 15, 2026
View on Podcast ↗
Video frame
80 claimsThe check →

The figures hold up: the 10-year started near 4.8% and peaked at about 5.04% around September 15, 2026, and the rise did occur after the Treasury's buyback intervention.

What was said

… Let's play this clip. Let's spend one minute on your intervention about a week and a half ago. You spent some 10 billion dollars, plus or minus, to try to lower the on the 10-year bond. This price is American mortgages. When you started, the 10-year bond was at 4.8%. Today, it's at a 20-year high of 5.04%. 20 basis point rise. Was your intervention successful, and will there be more? Yes, it was, sir, and the the ten year went up by 20 basis points. How can you say it was successful? The Well, there is a counterfactual of what would it have done. …
The MeidasTouch Podcast · · from the transcriptPost →

What we found

Contradicts. BBC attributes the rise in yields to inflation worries from the oil price surge since the US-Israel war with Iran, not to the buyback intervention, which was intended to push yields down. Read as a causal claim, the 'following the intervention' framing is contradicted.[2]

Supports. BBC reports the 10-year Treasury yield rose as high as 5.04% on September 15, 2026 after the US had been buying back bonds to push yields down.[2]

Supports. Chandler's monthly review says the 10-year climbed from about 4.79% at the start of September, consistent with the claimed 4.8% starting level.[3]

Supports. Bessent's own account, as quoted in the MarketScreener report, confirms the buyback intervention happened and that he called it successful; the post's 4.8% and 5.04% figures match that exchange.[4]

Context. Yields kept climbing after mid-September, reaching about 5.29% by September 30, so the 5.04% peak was a snapshot rather than the end of the move.[1][3]

Sources

4 sources: 1 fact-checker, 1 tier 1, 2 not rated

  1. 1Equities end slightly lower as bond yields hold near multi- ...reuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
  2. 2US borrowing costs hit highest level since 2007bbc.com · tier 1 · cited for: contradicts, supports
  3. 3October 2026 Monthly Bond Market Reviewchandlerasset.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context
  4. 4Bessent calls bond buybacks a success despite climb in yieldsmarketscreener.com · not rated · cited for: supports

Where this claim was made

Said in 1 published post

How Polygraph checks a claim

Our Weekly Newsletter

The Readout

The week's most-shared posts, checked. What they claimed, how they argued, and what held up.

Unsubscribe any time. See our privacy policy.