Bonds Continue to Offer Safe Haven Amid High Macro | Bonds & Fixed Income

President Trump’s latest announcement on tariffs is a reminder that macro uncertainty is high and can in all probability stay so for the close to time period.

“What we’re going to be doing is a 25% tariff on all cars not made in the US,” he mentioned on Wednesday.

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It wasn’t precisely a shock, given the President’s choice for tariffs, however it’s one other wake-up call that the White House intends to pursue its insurance policies, which suggests a tough experience for making assumptions based mostly on the usual playbook for the financial system and financial markets.

One exception is the case for holding bonds, which are sometimes the go-to asset when the outlook turns difficult. Fixed-income securities general are posting across-the-board good points this yr, based mostly on a set of ETFs by means of Wednesday’s close (Mar. 26).

The efficiency leaders in 2025 are 10-20-year Treasuries (NYSE:) and inflation-indexed authorities bonds (TIP), every posting 3%-plus year-to-date advances. Those are welcome good points when the stock market () is nursing a 2.7% loss up to now in 2025. The good points for TLH and TIP are additionally sizable return premiums over the benchmark for US investment-grade bonds through Vanguard Total Bond (NASDAQ:), which is up 2.1%.

But whereas bonds have supplied a secure haven this yr, there are a number of risk components that would complicate the trail forward. The urgent query is whether or not inflation or slowing financial growth is the precedence in phrases of how the adjusts its financial coverage.

For the second, the central bank is in a wait-and-see mode. After leaving its goal earlier this month, Fed funds futures are pricing high odds that a repeat efficiency will arrive on the subsequent FOMC assembly on May 7. By distinction, the market sees a sturdy probability that the Fed will cut charges on the June assembly.

Softer financial exercise, in different phrases, is the odds-on favourite for driving Fed coverage within the close to time period. If right, that may present a tailwind for bonds.

Slower financial exercise is normally related to decrease inflation, a mixture that might easy the trail for charge cuts. However, the potential for sticky or greater inflation amid softer financial exercise – stagflation —  is a concern and threatens an consequence that would weigh on bond costs as buyers demand a greater yield premium.

One strategist advises that stagflation risk is lurking. “The biggest question if you think about risk — I don’t think it’s a question of how much growth we will have or not — it’s stagflation,” says UBS Group AG’s Asia Pacific President Iqbal Khan at Bloomberg household workplace summit in Hong Kong on Thursday. “That’s the real risk out there and that’s what everybody wants to avoid. And I think most of the central banks including the Fed is clearly very, very focused on that.”

The implication: the Fed could also be reluctant to cut charges. If so, bonds might have a robust time rallying additional.

The Fed and the markets, in different phrases, are extremely depending on the drip, drip, drip of incoming financial information for deciding what comes subsequent. The subsequent main clue arrives tomorrow (Mar. 28), with the release of PCE inflation information for Feb—information that’s carefully watched by Fed officers.

For good or sick, the numbers aren’t anticipated to change the calculus. The consensus forecast expects the month-to-month and year-over-year comparisons to principally maintain regular vs. the January information. The odds for watching and ready, in sum, nonetheless appear like the best guess for now.