Economist Steve Hanke says the bond market is accurately pricing rising risks, leaving a bleak outlook for Treasuries, expressing concerns that President Donald Trump‘s policies are triggering a selloff.
‘Very Bearish’
Hanke attributed the bond selloff to a “deadly cocktail” of primarily monetary factors. He highlighted the awakening of bond vigilantes, investors who sell government debt in large quantities to protest reckless fiscal or monetary policies. Hanke anticipates a further 50-basis-point rise in the 10-year yield, making him “very bearish” on bonds for a significant period.
He pointed out that the Divisia M4, a measure of the money supply, is growing at 6.7% year-over-year, above his “Golden Growth Rate” of approximately 6%. Hanke argued that inflation expectations, not just realized inflation, drive bond yields. “The inflation genie’s out of the bottle, and it’s not going back in,” Hanke stated.
Hanke said the Treasury yield dynamic has already crossed the informal threshold that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been watching. Bessent has previously indicated a preference for a 10-year yield below 4%. Hanke said the market has been watching roughly 4.5% on the 10-year and 5% on the 30-year as informal thresholds for Treasury concern. Hanke stressed that this is a broadly held market view, not his own unique assessment.
