Interest Rate Update – February 2018

The 10-year benchmark US Treasury closed today at 2.78 percent. This rate is up from its 12-month low in August, 2017 of 2.06 percent. According to a 1-31-18 article in Bloomberg by Jeremy Herron, “Investors are weighing the path of monetary policy at a time of synchronized global growth and rising corporate profits that’s pushed equity gauges to unprecedented levels and sent benchmark bond yields to the highest in almost four years. The Fed on Wednesday acknowledged stronger growth, expressed more confidence that inflation will rise to its 2 percent target, and set the stage for a March interest-rate increase.”