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Tuesday, August 25, 2020

What Is Yield Curve Control? Kevin L. Kliesen and Kathryn Bokun


Yes, we can.
Similar to a policy rate, YCC aims to control interest rates along some portion of the yield curve. The yield curve is usually defined as the range of yields on Treasury securities from three-month Treasury bills to 30-year Treasury bonds. However, YCC targets longer-term rates directly by imposing interest rate caps on particular maturities. Because bond prices and yields are inversely related, this also implies a price floor for targeted maturities. If bond prices (yields) of targeted maturities remain above (below) the floor, the central bank does nothing. However, if prices fall (rise) below (above) the floor, the central bank buys targeted-maturity bonds—increasing the demand and thus the price of those bonds.
The minutes of the FOMC meeting on June 9-10 noted that the staff highlighted three examples of YCC policies: Federal Reserve policy during and after World War II, the Bank of Japan’s policy adopted in 2016 and the Reserve Bank of Australia’s policy adopted in March 2020.
FRBSL — On the Economy Blog
What Is Yield Curve Control?
Kevin L. Kliesen, Research Officer and Business Economist, and Kathryn Bokun, Research Associate

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