Traders Are Questioning the Fed’s Path, Derailing the Only Sure Bet in Bonds 

  • Gap between short-, long-term yields widens from recent lows
  • Profit taking, inflation uncertainty, Fed seen playing a role
The Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve building in Washington, D.C.Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg
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For all the record losses that piled up in the Treasury market this year, traders still had one sure thing: betting the yield curve would flatten as rising interest rates threaten economic growth.

Then this month that unraveled, too, as long-term yields surged amid bouts of selling, pushing them well above those on short-term notes.