Bond Yields Continue to Crank Higher

A DTN/Progressive Farmer article

As Treasury bonds reach levels not seen in nearly two decades, the consequences of higher bond rates can eventually show up in the cost of financing everything from farmland to machinery.

For farmers, the latest surge in the bond market threatens to keep borrowing costs elevated -- and potentially push some rates higher -- at the same time diesel prices are at record highs and other inputs such as fertilizer remain expensive.

The Federal Reserve gets most of the attention when interest rates rise or fall, but longer-term borrowing costs are increasingly being driven by the bond market, where yields on U.S. Treasury securities have climbed to levels not seen in nearly two decades.

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