{"id":53540,"date":"2026-05-18T20:19:52","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T12:19:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/uncategorized\/us-yields-hit-early-2025-highs-after-hot-ppi-putting-hawkish-fed-talk-back-in-focus\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T20:19:52","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T12:19:52","slug":"us-yields-hit-early-2025-highs-after-hot-ppi-putting-hawkish-fed-talk-back-in-focus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/live-updates\/us-yields-hit-early-2025-highs-after-hot-ppi-putting-hawkish-fed-talk-back-in-focus\/","title":{"rendered":"US yields hit early-2025 highs after hot PPI, putting hawkish Fed talk back in focus"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>US Treasury yields have risen to their highest levels since early 2025, following a broader bond market sell-off. The move came after higher-than-expected US inflation data, with final demand PPI at 6% year-on-year in April, the highest since early 2023.<\/p>\n<p>The rise in yields and a bearish steepening of the yield curve are adding pressure on the Federal Reserve to adopt a more hawkish tone, even without an immediate rate rise. The debate is linked to dissent at the April FOMC meeting and concern that policy could lag behind inflation trends.<\/p>\n<h3>Fed Pressure Builds<\/h3>\n<p>Upcoming Fed communication includes the release of the FOMC minutes on Wednesday and speeches from Christopher Waller tomorrow and on Friday. A shift towards the need for a hike could flatten the yield curve and support the US dollar.<\/p>\n<p>High oil prices and higher yields are described as negative for risk assets but supportive for the dollar. Near-term technical levels cited for the US Dollar Index (DXY) are resistance at 99.50 and support near 99.00.<\/p>\n<p>Rising US government bond yields are creating a challenging environment, pushing the US Dollar higher. The 10-year Treasury yield just hit 4.95%, a level we have not seen since the volatility in early 2025. This strength in yields and the dollar is putting pressure on other assets.<\/p>\n<p>The main driver is stubborn inflation, with producer prices rising 6% year-over-year in April, a rate reminiscent of the surge back in early 2023. This data, combined with the latest Consumer Price Index print of 5.2%, forces us to consider that the Federal Reserve may be behind the curve. This is fueling bets that the central bank will have to sound much more aggressive.<\/p>\n<h3>Positioning For Dollar Volatility<\/h3>\n<p>All eyes are now on upcoming Fed speakers, particularly Christopher Waller, for any hints of a more hawkish stance. The anticipation is building volatility, making short-term options a useful tool for traders positioning for a sharp move. A sudden shift in his tone towards a hike could easily send the dollar surging through recent highs.<\/p>\n<p>For the US Dollar Index, which is currently testing resistance around 99.50, we should consider strategies that benefit from a potential breakout. A call spread could be a cost-effective way to position for a move higher if Fed commentary this week comes out hawkish. This is a direct play on the dollar strengthening in the near term.<\/p>\n<p>This environment is also negative for stocks, as higher borrowing costs and a strong dollar hurt corporate earnings. We should look at buying put options on major indices like the S&#038;P 500 as a hedge against a potential market downturn. This is a classic defensive posture, much like the one that worked during the aggressive rate-hiking cycle of 2022.<\/p>\n<p><b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/trade-now\/\">Create your live VT Markets account<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.vtmarkets.com\/login\">start trading<\/a>\u00a0now. <\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>US Treasury yields hit early-2025 highs after hot PPI, pressuring Fed hawkishness; curve steepens, dollar supported.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[9],"class_list":["post-53540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-updates","tag-dollar"],"acf":{"acf_article_selection_author":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/103"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53540"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53540\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}