The U.S. Treasury yield curve steepens, with reports that Trump will fire Powell

On Wednesday, U.S. Treasury yields closed mixed, with the yield curve noticeably steepening. This followed signs—later denied—that President Trump was preparing to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Powell and replace him with someone who would cut rates sooner. Initially, reports indicated that Trump had shown a draft letter to dismiss Powell, but he later stated that the report was false, leading to significant market volatility. However, the short-term yield's decline of 8 basis points still retained most of its value, while the long-term yield—despite surging after the initial report—ultimately remained basically flat