US 5-Year Treasury: Policy-Based Fair Value Model

Signal as of April 2026: Rich / Overvalued (-0.06pp vs. fair value)  |  R² = 0.968  |  Updated June 05, 2026

Model Methodology

This model estimates the 5-year Treasury yield as a linear function of two Fed policy stance variables, calibrated by OLS regression over the full historical sample.

DGS5 = α + β₁·DGS2 + β₂·PolicySpread + β₃·TaylorGap

Regressor Definition Coeff. Interpretation
α Intercept +0.870 Structural level offset
DGS2 2-Year Treasury yield +0.861 Market pricing of short-rate path (level anchor)
PolicySpread DGS2 − FEDFUNDS +0.500 Hike expectations (+) / cut expectations (−)
TaylorGap FEDFUNDS − Taylor Rule rate +0.079 Hawkish vs. rule (+) / dovish vs. rule (−)

Taylor Rule: r = 2.5 + π + 0.5·(π − 2.0) − 1.0·(UNRATE − NROU), where π = Core PCE YoY and NROU = CBO natural rate of unemployment.

Model fit: R² = 0.968  |  In-sample RMSE = 0.35pp  |  Sample: Jan 1991 – Apr 2026

Residual = Actual − Fair Value. Mean-zero by OLS construction.
Positive → yield above model → market cheap/undervalued  |  Negative → yield below model → market rich/overvalued

Sources: Federal Reserve H.15 (DGS5, DGS2, FEDFUNDS), Bureau of Economic Analysis (PCEPILFE), Bureau of Labor Statistics (UNRATE), Congressional Budget Office via FRED (NROU). All data via FRED.