Market Minute

October 2023 – By Scott Rosenquist, CFA®

The yields on long-term Treasury bonds have climbed higher over the past few months and even more notably after the last Federal Reserve meeting where interest rates were held steady at 5.25-5.50%. The movement in the bond market highlights that while the Federal Reserve controls the policy rate, which yields on shorter maturity bonds track, longer maturities take more variables into consideration. Economic growth and inflation along with supply and demand are some of the factors priced into longer-term bond yields.

Market Minute

May 2023 – By Scott Rosenquist, CFA®

The U.S. Treasury announced the new rate of 4.3% for Series I bonds issued from May 1st through October 31^st of this year.  The new rate is down from the 6.89% offered previously, reflecting the decline in inflation over the past several months.  In May of 2022, the interest rate was 9.62% which generated a lot of interest from individual investors and led to incredibly high issuance of I-bonds from the Treasury.

Market Minute

October 2022 – Scott Rosenquist, CFA®

U.S. Treasury Series I Bonds will reset their interest rate next month leaving investors until the end of October to earn 9.62% for the following six months. The rate applied to I bonds is based on the month it was issued and will change every six months going forward. The current rate is attractive relative to other short-term savings options. As of now, estimates for the new interest rate appear lower than 9.62% but we will see in early November. The fixed rate component is currently zero, so the entire interest rate is based on the inflation component.