Bear Flattener in Treasuries Continues; Mortgage Rates Climb
Courtesy of Mish
Curve Watchers Anonymous has a quick update on US Treasuries.
click on chart for sharper image
The yield curve is flattening, in a bearish way. A Bull flattener would be when yields are dropping across the board with yields on the long end dropping more than the short end.
In this case, 5-year and 10-year yields are up about 45-50 basis points from the low just after QE II started, while yields on 30-year treasuries are up only about 30 basis point.
Daily Snapshot
You can see this easily in a daily snapshot from Bloomberg.
click on chart for sharper image
As I have pointed out before, this action is not at all usual. It is an artifact of everyone front-running the Fed’s announcement of Quantitative Easing purchases, then selling the news.
Yields are higher across the board than in August when the Fed first hinted at another round of QE.
Mortgage Rates Climb
Curve Watchers Anonymous also points out that mortgage rates are on the rise
Mortgage rates are a quarter point higher than a month ago and back to where they were three months ago, even as housing slips further into the gutter. Please see Bernanke Claims QE II will Create 700,000 to 1 Million Jobs; Where? Mexico, Peru, China for more on mortgage applications and mortgage rates.
