Par yield as of September 9, 2026 · official U.S. Treasury data
| Date | Yield | Change |
|---|---|---|
| September 9, 2026 | 5.28% | +3 bp |
| September 8, 2026 | 5.25% | +1 bp |
| September 4, 2026 | 5.24% | -1 bp |
| September 3, 2026 | 5.25% | -2 bp |
| September 2, 2026 | 5.27% | +0 bp |
| September 1, 2026 | 5.27% | +2 bp |
| August 31, 2026 | 5.25% | +3 bp |
| August 28, 2026 | 5.22% | +3 bp |
| August 27, 2026 | 5.19% | +1 bp |
| August 26, 2026 | 5.18% | — |
The 30-year Treasury, known simply as the long bond, is the longest maturity the US government issues. It is where the market expresses its view on inflation and growth over an entire generation, and where the compensation investors demand for locking money away shows up most starkly.
Almost nothing about the next Fed meeting matters at thirty years. What matters is the average short rate over three decades plus a term premium, and both of those are dominated by beliefs about long-run inflation, potential growth and the government’s fiscal path. A 30-year yield is closer to a statement about the country than a statement about the business cycle.
That is also why the long bond can move on days when the front end is still. A credit-rating headline, a larger-than-expected borrowing announcement or a shift in views about long-term inflation can reprice thirty-year debt while leaving the 2-year untouched.
The natural buyers here are institutions with liabilities decades away: defined-benefit pension schemes and life insurers. They buy long duration to match promises they have made to pay out in twenty or thirty years, and their demand is driven by their own funding levels rather than by a view on whether yields are attractive.
This creates behaviour that looks strange from a trading perspective. A well-funded pension scheme may buy long bonds precisely when yields have fallen, because falling yields raised the present value of its liabilities and it needs to lock in the match. That structural, price-insensitive demand is part of why the very long end can trade below shorter maturities.
A 30-year bond carries enormous interest-rate sensitivity. A one percentage point rise in yields can cut its price by roughly a fifth, which is a scale of loss most people do not associate with government debt. The bond is free of credit risk in dollar terms and yet can be one of the most volatile assets in a portfolio.
The mirror image is that it rallies hardest when yields fall, which is why long Treasuries have historically been a hedge against equity drawdowns driven by weakening growth. That hedge fails when stocks and bonds sell off together on an inflation shock, as investors were reminded when inflation returned.
The gap between the 30-year and the 10-year is largely a term-premium spread, since both are far enough out that near-term policy expectations wash out. A widening gap generally means investors are demanding more to hold very long duration, often on fiscal or inflation concerns rather than on a change in the growth outlook.
Watch the auctions too. The 30-year is the smallest and least liquid of the major coupon maturities, so a poorly received auction can lift the yield in a way that reflects placement difficulty rather than any change in economic expectations.
| Maturity | Yield | 1-Day Change | vs 30Y |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1M | 3.81% | +0 bp | -147 bp |
| 2M | 3.93% | +2 bp | -135 bp |
| 3M | 3.95% | +1 bp | -133 bp |
| 6M | 4.01% | +1 bp | -127 bp |
| 1Y | 4.17% | +2 bp | -111 bp |
| 2Y | 4.43% | +4 bp | -85 bp |
| 3Y | 4.49% | +5 bp | -79 bp |
| 5Y | 4.61% | +4 bp | -67 bp |
| 7Y | 4.71% | +3 bp | -57 bp |
| 10Y | 4.83% | +3 bp | -45 bp |
| 20Y | 5.28% | +2 bp | +0 bp |
| 30Y | 5.28% | +3 bp | — |
Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury daily par yield curve — official public-domain U.S. government data, published once per business day. This page is information, not investment advice; see our disclaimer.