The bond market is defying the expectations of many investors as yields continue to rise to levels not seen in more than 15 years. Yields of more than 5% in lower-risk bonds are available, at least for now.
This shift impacts borrowing costs in the real economy such as mortgage rates, which soared to more than 7% last week. This shift has been a purposeful one by the US Federal Reserve in an effort to control the pace of price growth (“inflation”): higher borrowing costs = fewer people buying stuff and pushing prices higher.
Why is this happening? To read more about today's Bond Basics update, please click on the links below. Please reach out to our team should you have any questions.