Bonds are getting smashed
The early selling comes following comments from St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, who suggested at a UBS conference in London, "A single policy-rate increase, possibly in December, may be sufficient to move monetary policy to a neutral setting."
Currently, fed fund futures data compiled by Bloomberg shows a 94.0% probability of a 25 basis point rate hike in December.
Wednesday's weakness has yields up nearly 7 bps in the belly of the curve and contending with their highest levels since the weeks following the last Fed rate hike in December 2015. Here's a look at the scoreboard as of 7:24 a.m. ET:
- 2-year +2.5 bps at 1.017%
- 3-year +4.0 bps at 1.310%
- 5-year +5.7 bps at 1.716%
- 7-year +6.7 bps at 2.071%
- 10-year +5.7 bps at 2.276%
- 30-year +3.6 bps at 2.992%
And the selling hasn't been limited to the US. Bonds all over the world are under pressure.
Overnight, Japan's 10-year yield climbed 1.7 bps to 1 bp, climbing into positive territory for the first time since Febraury.
In Europe, selling is taking place across the continent with the periphery under the most pressure. Portugal's 10-year yield is higher by 16 bps at 3.63%.