(Jan 15): Some bond traders are betting that the relentless selloff in treasuries will soon lose momentum, in part because of questions around how President-elect Donald Trump’s policies will take shape.
Traders have been adding options wagers that yields will retreat from the 14-month highs reached in the wake of Friday’s robust US jobs report, which dashed expectations for further Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts any time soon. One stand-out trade Tuesday, costing a premium of more than US$40 million (RM180.3 million), targeted a drop in 10-year yields to 4.6% by Feb 21, from roughly 4.8% now.
Wednesday brings the next pivotal data point, with the release of the latest consumer-price figures, which are forecast to show inflation remains sticky. Bonds have been slumping since early December, driving the 10-year yield up from around 4.15%, on signs of a resilient economy and speculation that Trump’s proposals will spur even quicker growth. There’s also concern that his tariff plans will reignite inflation.
However, a report Monday that his administration may implement tariffs gradually signaled the potential for a reduced inflationary impact, giving treasuries a brief boost. The report drove home how much uncertainty there is around the policy mix investors will face under Trump. Bonds also drew fleeting support on Tuesday from a cooler-than-projected report on producer prices.
All the lingering questions about the coming year are leading bond investors such as Pacific Investment Management Co to predict attractive returns ahead, while one prominent bear, RBC BlueBay Asset Management, has said it’s time to take some chips off the table.
In a sign of increasing bullishness in the cash market, JPMorgan Chase & Co’s latest client survey showed long positions increasing to the biggest in over a year, while short positions dwindled.
Meanwhile, in options linked to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate — which closely tracks the Fed’s expected policy path — some traders have started to position for a more dovish outlook than the current market consensus. The swaps market is pricing in just one more quarter-point of easing for the current policy cycle, but trades this week have targeted at least two more cuts this year.
Uploaded by Siow Chen Ming