The gap between yields on shorter- and longer-term Treasurys narrowed at month’s end, reflecting the tension between investors’ expectations that interest rates will climb and their concerns about the prospects for longer-term growth.
Yields on longer-term Treasurys, which tend to fall when investors expect cooling economic growth, have retreated since approaching their 2021 highs earlier in October. The slide came after new data showed tepid growth and lingering inflationary pressures, intensifying some investors’ expectations that the Federal Reserve will hasten interest-rate increases, slowing the economy.