Desk Slang · Core
Bear Steepener
A bear steepener is a curve move where long yields rise more than front yields (or fronts fall less) as the market prices more term premium, more deficit, or less faith in long-run restraint — and duration loses.
Definition
Steepener = 2s10s or 5s30s wider. Bear = the move happens with yields up, so long-end underperforms on a total-return basis. Contrast bull steepener (front yields crash more, recession cut pricing).
Why it matters
It is the 2022–23 Treasury story in one word: supply, QT, and term premium, not just the Fed.
Case
UK LDI 2022 and US 2023 long-end cheapening versus a pinned front were bear steepeners. 2007–08 into cuts was the other animal.
How to read it
Quote the pair and whether outright yields rose. ‘Steepener’ alone does not say who got paid.
No query has been run yet. Which is tragically normal for most knowledge systems, but we are trying to evolve past decorative databases.