A bond market selloff has propelled the benchmark US Treasury yield to a significant 5%, a level not witnessed since the pre-recession days of 2007. Some investors posit that this surge might have further room to grow.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, in his address before the New York Economic Club on Thursday, hinted at a potential November hiatus, acknowledging the robust economy’s potential warrant for tighter financial conditions. Powell also underscored emerging risks and the need for prudence. Greg Whiteley, Portfolio Manager at DoubleLine, interpreted this as a signal of no imminent Fed bailout, allowing rates to surpass 5%. Whiteley envisions 10-year yields ascending to as high as 5.5% before reaching their zenith.
The protracted uptick in Treasury yields raises concerns for a wide spectrum of assets in recent months. U.S. government bonds teeter on the precipice of an unprecedented third consecutive year of losses. Simultaneously, the S&P 500 has receded 7% from its July zenith, and credit spreads have widened.
Gennadiy Goldberg, Head of US Rates Strategy at TD Securities, posits that a sustained breach beyond the 5% threshold on the 10-year yield is well within the realm of possibility. Goldberg emphasizes that “the longer we endure elevated interest rates, the more likely a breaking point becomes.”
Anticipations of the Fed’s assertive monetary tightening precipitating a recession have been postponed over the past year. Economic activity has exhibited greater resilience to heightened borrowing costs than previously prognosticated. Powell also acknowledged the “term premium” as a catalyst for yields, an additional compensation investors expect for holding long-term debt, gauged through financial models.
Sameer Samana, Senior Global Market Strategist at the Wells Fargo Investment Institute, posited that augmented yields and broader financial constrictions may be inadvertently furthering the Fed’s objectives by tempering growth and curbing inflation. Alan Rechtschaffen, Senior Portfolio Manager and Financial Advisor at UBS Global Wealth Management, voiced apprehension regarding the potential reverberations of escalated yields, urging prudence on the part of the Fed.
Robert Tipp, Chief Investment Strategist and Head of Global Bonds at PGIM Fixed Income, underscored that even in the event of Fed rate reductions in the coming years, yields could persist above 5% if inflation and growth continue their ascent. In totality, recent developments point toward a protracted period of elevated rates, as encapsulated by the Fed’s “higher for longer” ethos.
In conclusion, the recent surge in the bond market and the benchmark US Treasury yield to 5% underscores the critical juncture at which the economy finds itself, prompting both investors and policymakers to closely monitor the potential implications on financial markets and economic stability.
Source: Reuters
