On August 28, U.S. short-term Treasury yields increased. Federal Reserve Chairman Walsh, in a highly anticipated speech, emphasized the need for the Fed to curb rising consumer prices, alleviating some market concerns about its ability to combat inflation. During Walsh's speech, short-term U.S. Treasuries were sold off while long-term Treasuries rose. The yield on the two-year Treasury increased by 5 basis points to 4.28%, while the 30-year yield fell by 1 basis point to 5.19%. These changes indicate that the market expects the Fed may need to raise short-term rates. Since Walsh's first press conference in June, bond traders have had doubts about his policy stance. At that time, Walsh stressed the need to lower inflation and displayed a hawkish stance. Since the global economy reopened from the pandemic in 2021, U.S. inflation has remained above the Fed's 2% target. However, in July, the Fed kept rates unchanged, and Walsh did not indicate whether a rate hike might occur this year. Subsequently, long-term Treasury yields rose significantly as traders demanded higher returns to compensate for the risks posed by escalating inflation. On Friday, Walsh warned that inflation had not shown meaningful signs of slowing and stated that policymakers must be confident that inflation is improving; otherwise, the central bank 'has work to do.' He also reiterated that policymakers will bring the inflation rate back to the 2% target, emphasizing that this goal is clear and fixed.
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