Brian Chappatta, Columnist

Market’s Jobs Response Signals Yield-Curve Control Is Here

U.S. Treasuries have barely budged in the face of staggering labor market data.

April 3, 2020 at 2:40 PM UTC

Brian Chappatta is managing editor of Bloomberg News' leveraged finance and distressed debt teams. He was previously managing editor and team leader of its wealth group. Before that he was a Bloomberg Opinion markets and finance columnist and a bonds reporter for Bloomberg News.

It’s not full control, but it’s close.
Photographer: Mauro Pimentel/AFP/Getty Images

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If the past two days of trading in U.S. Treasuries are any guide, yield-curve control might have already reached the world’s biggest bond market.

On Thursday, Labor Department data showed a record 6.65 million people filed jobless claims in the week ended March 28, blowing past estimates for 3.76 million. When added to the previous week’s tally, it showed almost 10 million Americans were out of work because of the coronavirus pandemic. And yet, 10-year Treasuries took those figures in stride. The borrowing benchmark fluctuated by less than 7 basis points, the tightest range since Feb. 19, the same day the S&P 500 Index hit a record high. It closed 1 basis point higher than where it started the day, at 0.597%.