US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pushed back against concerns over heightened volatility in the Treasury market during an interview on Sunday, arguing that worries about rising debt levels and yield movements overlook the positive aspects of America's economic strength and fiscal outlook.

Responding to growing criticism regarding market turbulence and the Treasury's management of its operations, Bessent said, "First of all, I don't know where the talk of market turmoil comes from," noting that the US Treasury market has been the "best performing" among global peers this year.

With finance chiefs and central bank governors from the Group of 20 gathering for two days of talks starting Monday in Asheville, North Carolina, Bessent emphasized that the US is in a stronger position than many advanced economies because it can maintain relatively large budget deficits while still achieving economic growth. "Equally important, we are growing," he said.

Benchmark US Treasury yields have been largely flat over the past week, with the 10-year yield closing Friday near 4.73% in a narrow trading range, reflecting investors balancing signals on the US fiscal outlook against evidence of economic resilience. Even as US and Iranian forces exchanged fire again during Asian trading hours on Monday, longer-dated yields remained little changed.

Bessent attributed the rise in yields primarily to energy prices and inflation pressures stemming from the conflict with Iran, but predicted these factors would fade over time. He added that higher yields actually reflect market confidence in the US economy.

He also dismissed concerns raised by some central bank officials over the Treasury Department's unexpected expansion of its bond buyback program, denying that the operations distort the market or deviate from the department's traditionally predictable approach. Last week, Bessent announced the Treasury would at least double the size of its regular longer-dated bond buybacks to $4 billion per operation. He argued that the earlier surge in yields, which pushed 30-year borrowing costs to a 19-year high, had become disconnected from economic fundamentals.

Drawing comparisons to larger-scale interventions overseas, Bessent noted that policies under former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and years of massive bond purchases by the Bank of Japan drew less criticism. "When Mario Draghi did it in Europe, they didn't seem to have a problem; when the Japanese bought half of their bond market, they didn't seem to have a problem either," he said.

Bessent said the Treasury's regular buyback program, which is far smaller in scale than those overseas, is designed to curb market volatility that typically intensifies during thin August trading volumes. He also noted that the larger buyback operations have not yet been executed and are scheduled to begin on September 10.

"I don't think I can change the equilibrium price," Bessent said. "My job is to make sure the market functions smoothly... to ensure the market doesn't become disorderly."