Steepening / flattening
Definition · Level 7 · Futures, rates & macro
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The curve’s slope increasing (long yields rising relative to short ones — 2s10s widening) versus decreasing (the gap narrowing). Prefixed bull or bear depending on whether yields overall are falling or rising.
Example
2s10s from +20 to +45 bp = 25 bp of steepening.
Where Tradecraft teaches it
Level 7 · Futures, rates & macro, in the lesson “The Fed, policy rates & the curve”: Fed funds, FOMC, dots, hawks and doves, QE/QT, repo and SOFR, real yields, and reading the yield curve.
Related terms
- 2s10sThe 10-year Treasury yield minus the 2-year yield, in bp: the headline gauge of curve slope.
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