Indeed, as we observe in this article, this was one of the primary arguments for issuing
Treasury inflation-indexed securities. TABLE 1 Typical Bid-Ask Spreads for Treasury Securities 1/32nds of Price Maturities of Maturities of Maturities Five Years or Five to Ten beyond Ten Type Less Years Years On-the-run nominal 1/4 to 1/2 1/2 NA Off-the-run nominal 1/2 to 1 1/2 to 1 2 Inflation-indexed 1 to 2 2 4 to 16 Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York (informal survey of dealers conducted in mid-2003).
Treasury inflation-indexed securities were first issued in January 1997.
A measure of expected inflation can be derived by subtracting the interest rate on
Treasury inflation-indexed securities (a real rate) from that on non-indexed Treasury securities (a nominal rate).
Treasury inflation-indexed securities (TIIS), which adjust their principal and interest for inflation, provide a direct measure of real rates.
Treasury inflation-indexed securities (TIIS) adjust their principal and interest for inflation, giving a direct measure of real rates.
Another way to gauge long-term inflation expectations is by subtracting the yield on 10-year
Treasury inflation-indexed securities (TIIS), a signal of the real rate of interest, from the 10-year Treasury bill.
This explanation is confirmed by a fall in the 10-year
Treasury inflation-indexed securities (TIIS) yield, which is a real interest rate.
The decline in
Treasury inflation-indexed securities' inflation compensation and the relative stability of survey measures of long-term inflation expectations offer some comfort.