US Treasury yield curve steepens to levels last seen in five years ago

As represented by the spread between the five and 30-year bond yields, the US Treasury yield curve steepened to over 1460 basis points on Wednesday – the highest since February 2016. 

The curve has been steepening for months, with investors anticipating a stimulus-led pick up in inflation and gathered pace on Wednesday, as the US decided not to increase auction sizes for long-maturity notes and bonds at next week's quarterly refunding sales, as noted by Bloomberg.

A continued steepening of the yield curve could weigh over the zero-yielding assets such as gold. The yellow metal is currently trading at a two-week low of $1,825 per ounce.