ProShares Short 7-10 Year Treasury

TBX

Valor de mercado US$ 19,2 mi

Treasury Secretary Bessent insists on challenging the bond vigilantes, and neither side is backing down. The underlying trends are pointing toward volatility ahead and potentially much more.

On Wednesday, July 29, the FOMC rate decision will be followed by Microsoft and Meta earnings after the close. Thursday begins with the advance estimate of Q2 GDP and the June PCE inflation report before Apple and Amazon report after the bell. CME FedWatch currently implies a 62–65% probability that the Fed holds rates in July, with the remaining probability assigned to a hike.

Treasury yields climbed as Middle East tensions linger. These inverse Treasury ETFs could benefit if inflation and bond yields keep rising.

I initially rated ProShares Short 7-10 Year Treasury ETF a "Buy" in April 2022 due to rising rates; now, I rate it a "Sell". TBX had a 14.3% annualized return from April 2022 to October 2023, while iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF had an APR of -8.7%. The Federal Reserve's balance sheet reduction and rising national debt will put upward pressure on intermediate Treasuries in the longer-term.

The ECB cut rates by 25bp as widely anticipated, but a slightly hawkish tilt bear flattened the EUR curve, which in our view remains priced aggressively. In the US, as the markets head towards the Fed's first rate cut, the probability of a larger cut rose slightly on Thursday.

It generally takes a few years for changes in Federal Reserve rates to fully impact bond fund dividends. Bond funds are still benefitting from prior rate hikes. Perhaps by enough to cancel out any future rate cuts. By my estimations, and under current Fed guidance, most bond funds would only start to see declining dividends in 2025, at the earliest.