⚠️TREASURY "QE LITE" HAS ARRIVED: The US Treasury is stepping in to support the long-end of the bond market, doubling its long-term debt buyback operations from a $2 billion cap to at least $4 billion per operation starting September 9th. The buybacks target 10-year to 30-year Treasuries and are explicitly designed to provide additional liquidity support to longer-dated securities. This comes as the 30-year Treasury yield surged to its highest level since 2007 this week, underscoring growing pressure on the long end of the curve. Following the announcement, 30-year yields fell as much as -9 basis points, to 5.19%, while the 2s30s curve flattened by -7 basis points. Equities and gold also rallied as markets interpreted the move as a form of QE Lite, even though Treasury buybacks do not reduce overall federal debt or expand the Fed’s balance sheet. The Treasury is stepping in more aggressively as the US debt crisis is spiraling out of control.