A Look Back at Treasuries in 2021

Jan 6, 2022
US Treasury Rates by Maturity

The one-month and three-month rates trended downwards for the third year in a row while all other rates went up ending their downward trend at two years.  The yield curve widened over the course of the year.  A narrowing from the short-term is a warning sign for an inversion that indicates recession.

Findings

  • The one-month and three-month dropped in 2021 while all other rates rose.
  • The five-year rate had the best absolute performance with a 0.90 point change.
  • On a relative basis, the three-year rate had the best performance with a 470.59 percent change.
  • The three-month rate had the worst absolute performance with a -0.03 point change.
  • On a relative basis, the three-month rate had the worst performance with a -33.33 percent change.
  • The one-month bill did not maintain the lowest rate throughout the year.
  • The yield curve widened 0.27 points.

Caveats

  • As always, past performance is not indicative of future results.
  • The rates have been at historic lows for quite some time which has not occurred previously.

Details

Range of US Treasury Rates

The breadth of the yield curve widened over the year from a range of 1.57 to a range of 1.84.  The widest range was 2.44 on March 18 and March 19 and the narrowest range was 1.57 which occurred on January 4.

High Rate and Maturity

The thirty-year bond did not hold the highest rate throughout the year.

Low Rate and Maturity

The one-month bill had trouble holding the lowest rate for a good chunk of the year.

Sources

"Treasury Constant Maturity," Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, accessed January 5, 2022, https://fred.stlouisfed.org/categories/115.

"US Business Cycles and Contractions," National Bureau of Economic Research, accessed January 6, 2022, https://www.nber.org/research/data/us-business-cycle-expansions-and-contractions.

Filed under: Economic Data