Treasury yields, Oct 21: 30-year at 5.42%, down 25bp from Oct 7 high as curve flattens

Long-term borrowing costs have fallen well below their early-October highs

Treasury yields are the interest rates the U.S. government pays to borrow. They act as a benchmark for other borrowing costs across the economy.

• 30-year: 5.42% on Oct 21. It was 5.67% on Oct 7, so it has fallen 25 basis points (bp), or hundredths of a percentage point.
• 20-year: 5.47%, down from 5.65% on Oct 9.
• 10-year: 5.13%, down from 5.31% on Oct 5. Most of that drop came on Oct 15, when the yield fell from 5.19% to 5.10%. That was the day after the release of the consumer price index (CPI), which tracks the prices consumers pay.

Short-term yields held steady, so the yield curve flattened

• The 2-year yield was 4.81%, compared with 4.84% on Oct 5.
• The 1-year yield edged up to 4.52%.
• Bill yields held steady: 4.25% for 3 months and 4.09% for 1 month.

The gap between 2-year and 10-year yields narrowed to 32bp, from 47bp on Oct 5. The gap between 2-year and 30-year yields shrank to 61bp, from 90bp on Oct 7. Short-term yields are steady while long-term yields fall. This suggests markets still expect more interest rate increases from the Federal Reserve, even as long-term bonds rally.

Total public debt reached $40.44 trillion on Oct 20

Treasury's daily Debt to the Penny data show that total public debt outstanding rose $43.1 billion in one day.

• Debt held by the public rose $32.7 billion to $32.57 trillion.
• Intragovernmental holdings rose $10.4 billion to $7.87 trillion. This is debt that one part of the government owes to another.
• Total debt is up about $268 billion since Sept 30. That includes the usual jump in intragovernmental holdings on Oct 1, at the start of the new fiscal year.

Oct 21 itself was a quiet trading day

The 2-year yield rose 2bp to 4.81%. The 10-year yield rose 1bp to 5.13%. The 30-year yield did not change.