Bond Market Gets Lifeline as $25 Trillion Gauge Erases 2023 Loss
- Benchmark index now shows gain for 2023 after rally this week
- Softening job market, inflation boost bets on Fed rate cuts
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At least for now, the US bond market is on track to avoid the not-so-glorious milestone of a third consecutive year of losses, which by some accounts would have been the worst performance since the 18th century.
Following a softer-than-expected inflation report, the Bloomberg US Aggregate index has gained 1.2% this week through Thursday and is up 0.4% for the year. The benchmark, which tracks $25 trillion of investment-grade government and corporate debt, posted a record loss of 13% in 2022 and declined 1.5% the previous year. The index has never slid three straight years.