U.S. debt tops $40 trillion

Investing.com -- U.S. total public debt exceeded $40 trillion for the first time, reaching $40.047 trillion on Tuesday, according to Treasury Department data released Wednesday.

The total includes $32.266 trillion in Treasury securities held by the public and $7.782 trillion in intra-governmental debt holdings, based on the Treasury's daily cash and debt balances statement.

Federal debt has more than doubled since January 2017, when it stood at $19.95 trillion as President Donald Trump began his first term. About one-third of the increase occurred during a two-year period of government borrowing to fund COVID-19 pandemic responses under both Trump and former President Joe Biden.

The remaining growth stems from fiscal policy decisions made by both administrations combined with ongoing tax-and-spending imbalances.

On Wednesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the government will double buyback sizes for 10- to 30-year Treasuries to at least $4 billion per operation in an effort to push long bond yields lower.

The term premium for 10-year Treasuries, which measures the portion of yield attributed to the perceived risk of holding the securities for a decade, reached its highest level in more than 12 years this week.

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