Bond ETFs are being punished by growing signs of a soft landing

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Major bond exchange-traded funds were falling on Thursday, adding to a rough October.

While still up from a year ago, the roughly $118 billion iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF was down 0.5% on Thursday and off about 1.8% so far in October.

Should that loss hold, it would mark the ETF’s worst monthly performance since April 2024, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

It also would be the worst month for the iShares 20+Year Bond ETF, the iShares TIPS Bond ETF and the Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF since April, the data show.

Bond prices, which move in the opposite direction to yields, have been under pressure as traders have been, once again, lowering previously aggressive expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts.