Finance

Government bond yields maintained their momentum near decade highs despite efforts from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to suppress borrowing costs. A surprise announcement by the Treasury Department to expand its long-term bond buyback program to $4 billion per operation provided temporary relief but was ultimately shrugged off by fixed-income investors. Short-dated notes led the upward push as market participants adjusted expectations toward potential Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.

Bitcoin recorded its strongest weekly performance in over two years, vaulting roughly 23% over the week to trade around $77,000 and briefly touching $79,426. The digital asset surge was fueled by an injection of liquidity from the Treasury's bond buybacks, a massive short squeeze, and over $2.6 billion in weekly inflows into U.S. crypto ETFs. This positive momentum spilled over to public equities, prompting double-digit single-day gains for companies like Robinhood and Coinbase.

Gold and silver futures extended their rallies, capitalizing on a weakening U.S. dollar that reached its lowest valuation since May. Front-month gold futures posted a third consecutive weekly gain, climbing 5.6% over five days to settle at $4,624.10 per troy ounce. Market analysts attributed the persistent interest in precious metals to escalating concerns over America's $40 trillion national debt and geopolitical instability in the Middle East.