Expert insight

Managing liquidity risk in the world’s deepest bond market

November 21, 2022

This bar chart shows that the total amount of U.S. Treasury bills, notes, and bonds outstanding grew from $2.8 trillion in 1990 to $6.0 trillion in 2007, and then it dramatically jumped to a high of $25.6 trillion in 2021.
This line chart shows Treasury market depth, which refers to the ability to trade without substantially moving prices. It reached a recent low during March 2020, during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and neared those lows again in October 2022.
This chart shows that Treasury market volatility spiked in March 2020, during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, then dropped, but it has risen mostly consistently since. It now rivals those highs again in October of 2021.

Contributors:

Roger Hallam
John Madziyire
Vanguard Information and Insights

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