The Federal Reserve’s "strong economy" assessment is widely questioned by Wall Street.

The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged at their current level as expected on Thursday. In its latest policy statement, the central bank upgraded its assessment of U.S. economic expansion from "solid" in September to "strong". The Fed noted that business investment remains robust and job growth aligns with the size of the labor market. Market participants have raised widespread skepticism over the Fed’s upbeat economic outlook. With economic growth momentum softening, some observers argue that even a minor weakening in economic fundamentals could derail this "strong" outlook. It remains unclear exactly how this strong performance will drive price pressures lower. Following Wash’s press conference, his lack of clear commitments on future policy actions led markets to scale back bets on further interest rate hikes. Against this backdrop, the spread between 2-year and 10-year Treasury yields, which had flattened in recent weeks, widened again, peaking at 34.1 basis points. The sharp sell-off in long-dated bonds indicates investors are navigating complexities beyond short-term monetary policy. Investors holding 10-year and 30-year U.S. Treasuries face greater exposure to inflation expectations and interest rate fluctuations over longer time horizons. When uncertainty rises, they demand additional compensation for this duration risk, pushing yields higher and bond prices lower.