Debt markets · Wednesday, September 9, 2026
Treasury’s bigger long-bond buybacks start today
The File desk · Sep 9, 2026, 2:26 PM UTC
Status
Confirmed from a Treasury press release dated Aug. 19, 2026. The larger per-operation size takes effect today, Sept. 9.
- Confirmed
Treasury sb0607, Aug. 19, 2026: the maximum size of in the 10-to-20-year and 20-to-30-year nominal sectors rises from $2 billion to at least $4 billion per operation, effective Sept. 9 through Nov. 4. Next Quarterly Refunding is Nov. 4. An updated tentative buyback schedule is to be released later.
- Confirmed
Friday’s August Employment Situation remains the last hard labor count on this desk: +162,000 payrolls, unemployment 4.1 percent. Employer Costs for Employee Compensation for June 2026 is scheduled for 10 a.m. Eastern today; the live BLS HTML page was 403 to this desk at lock, so those figures are not printed here.
The Treasury starts buying more of its own long bonds today. An Aug. 19 release raised the ceiling for in the 10-to-20-year and 20-to-30-year sectors from $2 billion to at least $4 billion per operation, effective Sept. 9 through Nov. 4. Dealers keep showing strong offers there, the department said. The next Quarterly Refunding is Nov. 4. Friday’s August jobs report — 162,000 payrolls, unemployment still 4.1 percent — remains the last hard labor count. Employer Costs for Employee Compensation for June 2026 is due from the Bureau of Labor Statistics at 10 a.m. Eastern today; those numbers were not yet on the release page at this edition lock.
The Treasury starts buying more of its own long bonds today.
On Aug. 19 the department said it was raising the cap on in two slices of the market: bonds with 10 to 20 years left, and bonds with 20 to 30 years left. The old ceiling was $2 billion per operation. The new ceiling is at least $4 billion.
That change takes effect Sept. 9 and runs through Nov. 4, the rest of this refunding quarter. Treasury will say more about later sizes at the next Quarterly Refunding, on Nov. 4.
The department said it sees strong sponsorship in those longer bonds. Dealers keep sending in high-quality offers, Treasury wrote, and the bigger operations are meant to support trading there.
An updated tentative buyback schedule “will be released at a later date.”
Friday’s jobs print is still the last labor count on this desk. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said August payrolls rose 162,000 and the unemployment rate stayed 4.1 percent. Employer Costs for Employee Compensation for June 2026 is scheduled for 10 a.m. Eastern today. The live release page did not yield figures to this desk at lock.
What is still unknown or disputed
- Updated tentative buyback schedule “to be released at a later date.”
- Employer Costs for Employee Compensation for June 2026 figures not yet printed at lock.
Primary sources
Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.
Source 1
Treasury Announces Increased Sizes of Nominal Long-End Liquidity Support Buybacks Beginning September 9
U.S. Department of the Treasury · August 19, 2026
Maximum size at least $4 billion per operation effective Sept. 9 through Nov. 4; next Quarterly Refunding Nov. 4. Significant volume of high-quality offers in longer-dated operations.
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0607
Source 2 · fetch incomplete
THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION — AUGUST 2026
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · September 4, 2026
Payrolls +162,000; unemployment unchanged 4.1 percent. Next Employment Situation Friday Oct. 2, 2026, 8:30 a.m. ET.
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
Source 3 · fetch incomplete
Employer Costs for Employee Compensation Summary (prior release notes next date)
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2026-06-12 page checked 2026-09-09
Employer Costs for Employee Compensation for June 2026 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. (ET). Live HTML fetch returned 403 to this desk at lock.
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm