Fixed income

Investors offloaded $12.6 billion of Treasuries last year, but that figure was dwarfed by a record $121.8 billion purchase of U.S. agency debt, higher-yielding securities.

The yield on the two-year Treasury moved to be as much as 32 basis points higher than the 10-year yield, which slid in the wake of the Fed’s announcement that it was raising its overnight benchmark by 75 basis points.

The evidence of the Fed’s loss of control has multiplied uncomfortably in recent weeks. For its sake and that of both the domestic and global economy, the central bank desperately needs to regain control of the inflation narrative.

It all threatens to add a fresh twist for Treasury investors, who are already grappling with haywire moves and near double-digit losses with few precedents in the modern trading era.

A consensus has formed that the Federal Reserve waited too long to start tightening money. Fed watchers are still disagreeing about another question: Is the central bank tightening too much and too fast now?

US Treasuries extended losses and stock futures remained down as investors considered how a better-than-expected US jobs report might impact the pace of Federal Reserve policy tightening.

Investors are on edge over whether the US central bank’s tighter policies will induce a recession. A chorus of Fed officials has fallen behind calls to keep hiking to counter price pressures.

Concerns that central-bank rate hikes may induce a recession are keeping investors guessing about the outlook for the economy as rising food and energy costs squeeze consumers, and volatility has picked up.

Yields have jumped so much this year, roughly doubling those on 10-year Treasuries, that it recalls past buying opportunities that paid off when the tide turned.

The yield jumped as much as three basis points to 3.11%, extending an advance that has seen the rate more than double this year.