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US bond market flashes recession warning before round of auctions

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Investors are about to absorb $131 billion of Treasury note auctions at the lowest yields in months, after they piled into US debt following a dovish Federal Reserve decision and fresh signs that global growth is weakening. The week kicks off with a closely watched segment of the US yield curve foreshadowing a recession: The gap between 3-month and 10-year rates is now negative.

In the leadup to the economic downturn that began late in 2007, this part of the curve initially flipped to inverted in early 2006.

The curve’s latest collapse came amid reports showing weakness in France and Germany, while an index of American manufacturing slowed. The days ahead bring readings on the US housing market and consumer confidence, which may help investors gauge the Fed’s next step after policy makers unexpectedly scaled back projected rate hikes this year to zero.

There will also be an array of Fed speakers to weigh in on the developments, not to mention a planned Brexit vote in the UK Parliament. “The Fed’s actions and commentary have given investors the impression that they know something that the rest of the market doesn’t know about the future of the economy,” said Kevin Giddis, head of fixed income at Raymond James in Memphis, Tennessee.

“This is a classic momentum trade now that favors riskoff that is leading us toward the conversation about a recession.” He’s focusing on the data this week that are leading indicators, like housing starts, to see if the economy is actually faltering. Bond investors seem to be leaning in that direction, even as the labor market is the tightest in decades.

The benchmark 10-year note yields 2.44 per cent, close to its lowest since January 2018.

Giddis sees it ending the year at 2.25 per cent. Money-market traders are also ramping up bets that a rate cut is coming, even as policy makers still have their next move penciled in as a hike in 2020.

Fed funds futures show traders see about an 80% chance of a quarter-point easing this year, up from about 30 per cent early last week. While the San Francisco Fed calls the 3-month-to-10-year spread the most useful for forecasting recessions, some investors aren’t convinced by this latest market signal. Michael Kushma, chief investment officer for global fixed income at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, says this part of the curve “is distorted” by global forces fueling demand in the long end.

And increased bill supply is elevating short-end rates, he said. The demand for new Treasuries with 2-, 5- and 7-year maturities may get a lift from tumbling yields worldwide.

The sales will also offer investors a chance to pass judgment on the Fed’s decision to end its balance sheet roll-off sooner than some expected. “The auctions will clarify investor commitment to Treasuries at these new lower levels,” said Jim Vogel, a strategist at FTN Financial.

“The auctions will also clarify where people want to put their money on the curve.

You can’t avoid the taper when you have to commit billions of dollars to Treasuries.”




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