Treasury yield curve inverts on Fed rate hike outlook
Tue Jun 6, 2006 1
NEW YORK, June 6 (Reuters) - The yield on the two-year Treasury note briefly rose above that of the benchmark 10-year note on Tuesday for the first time since March, as bond market participants stepped up bets the Fed would raise interest rates at the end of this month.
The 10-year note <US10YT=RR> was yielding 5.008 percent, while the two-year note, which responds closely to expectations for Fed interest rate moves, yielded 5.009 percent <US2YT=RR> according to Reuters data.
This shift inverts the so-called "yield curve", or gap between yields on short-dated and long-dated U.S. government bonds. The curve is normally positively sloped, with longer maturities yielding more than shorter ones. In the past, an inverted curve has sometimes been a harbinger of economic downturns or recessions.