Following futures positions of non-commercials are as of January 30, 2018. 10-year note: Currently net short 215.6k, up 97.7k. Last week, the futures-market odds of a 25-basis-point hike in the March (20-21) meeting in the fed funds rate stood at … Continued
U.S. consumers are alive and well. There is both good and bad in this – good now but potentially bad down the road. Consumer spending in December rose 0.4 percent month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $13.7 trillion. … Continued
The U.S. sovereign bond market is in upheaval. So to speak. Ten-year Treasury yields have broken out. Chart 1 is a monthly chart. If in the next couple of sessions, these yields stay north of at least 2.5 percent – … Continued
Following futures positions of non-commercials are as of January 23, 2018. 10-year note: Currently net short 117.9k, up 28.6k. Tuesday, a two-day FOMC meeting begins. This is the year’s first, and will be Janet Yellen’s, the outgoing chair, last. (The … Continued
Of late, the U.S. dollar has defied expectations. Since peaking at 103.82 early January last year through Thursday’s intraday low, the US dollar index (89.23) dropped 15 percent. This was a period in which U.S. economic fundamentals have been decent … Continued
Following futures positions of non-commercials are as of January 16, 2018. 10-year note: Currently net short 89.3k, down 107.6k. A Bloomberg article last week about China beginning to weigh slowing or halting purchases of U.S. Treasurys gave the bond market … Continued
What if? What if China proceeds to reduce its purchases of Treasury securities? At $1.18 trillion, it is the largest holder. Japan – at $1.08 trillion – is close second. The U.S. Treasury market is $14.2-trillion strong (chart here). On … Continued
U.S. 10-year Treasury yields peaked in September 1981 at 15.8 percent, then dropped all the way to bottom at 1.34 percent in July 2016. Some bull market in bonds! On an absolute basis, the 10-year is still trapped in a … Continued
Following futures positions of non-commercials are as of January 9, 2018. 10-year note: Currently net short 196.9k, up 121k. Is this the big one? The big breakout in 10-year Treasury yields, that is? The 10-year has been trapped in a … Continued
U.S. corporate bond issuance hit a new record last year. Issuance totaled $1.63 trillion, up 6.9 percent over 2016. This was the fastest growth rate in five years, and also the eighth consecutive year of trillion-plus issuance (Chart 1). Investment-grade … Continued