Bond yields reverse higher in a cautionary sign

There might be trouble brewing in the bond market. Yields have been steadily moving higher today. Perhaps that’s a sign of a better risk trade but it could signal worries about the Fed or inflation.

The rise has come despite a surprisingly strong 5-year auction, with a 1.4 bps stop through, so there’s some heft behind it.

US 10-year yields are up to 1.785% from as low as 1.73% earlier.

This follows onto the relatively sanguine day in the bond market yesterday. There were little signs of a true flight to quality with yields only falling a handful of bps, even at the height of the panic.

The lasting message in all of it might be that the recent pause in the march higher in yields won’t last. If that rise in rates continues it’s likely to feed back into more pain in equities and more USD buying.