Treasury Yield Trend Revived by Consumer Confidence Slump

A rally in short-maturity Treasuries sparked by slumping consumer confidence re-started last year’s yield-curve steepening trend that had run aground this month.

The unexpected drop in the Conference Board’s gauge of consumer sentiment in January to the lowest level in more than a decade fortified the prospect of two Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts this year. Short-maturity Treasury yields declined in response, with the two-year note’s falling more than three basis points from its daily high.