10-Year Treasury Yield ‘Fair Value’ Estimate

 | Jan 07, 2022 08:50AM ET

The US 10-year Treasury yield rose to a new pandemic high. The increase signals a higher probability of the benchmark rate pushing above levels reached before the pandemic started in early 2020. During the 12 months prior to the pandemic, the 10-year rate traded in the roughly 2%-3%-plus range.

The catalyst is higher inflation and the Federal Reserve’s growing hawkish bias on monetary policy on three fronts: scaling down and then ending its bond-buying program, reducing the central bank’s balance sheet, and raising interest rates.

Fed minutes released earlier this week reported that in the mid-December FOMC meeting “almost all participants agreed that it would likely be appropriate to initiate balance sheet runoff at some point after the first increase in the target range for the federal funds rate.”

“The fact that almost all participants agreed that it was appropriate to initiate the balance sheet runoff after the first increase in the target range for the fed funds rate implies that there’s not a big appetite for ‘let’s wait and see. Last time, they waited two years. This time, it looks like they’re ready to go.” Says Kathy Jones, chief fixed-income strategist at Charles Schwab.“

The Treasury market appears to be pricing in these factors. The 10-year yield rose for a fifth straight day on Friday, reaching 1.76%. A substantial and sustained rise above these levels would likely be viewed in markets as a signal that rates would continue to rise/remain elevated for the near term.