AFP,NEW YORK:  The US economy may be basking in the warm  glow of solid growth, but economists are nervously eyeing a trend in the bond  market that could spell stormy weather ahead.

   Even though President Donald Trump is touting unemployment at its lowest  level in 17 years and Wall Street soaring to new heights, economists are  worried about one indicator that is often a harbinger of recession: the yield  curve.

     ”Since 1950, each recession has been preceded by a reversal of the yield curve,” said Christopher Low, chief economist of FTN Financial.

     This closely scrutinized graph maps the difference in yield, or return on

investment, of short- and long-term US Treasury debt, usually comparing two-year notes to 10-year bonds.

     Normally, the shorter the investment, the lower the yield, and conversely,

the longer the investment, the higher the return, to offset the greater risks

of losing access to funds for an extended period.

      But for the past year, the yield curve has been flattening as the return on

short-term debt has been getting close to long-term yields, possible

signaling eroding confidence in the economy’s performance in the coming

years.

       The spread between the yield on two- and 10-year Treasury paper fell from

135 in December 2016 to 51 basis points on December 15, the lowest since

October 2007 — just before the start of the global financial crisis.

       Worse still would be if the yield curve inverts, as short-term returns

outpace the longer-dated debt—meaning the spread is negative—and if officials ignore the warning.

      The yield curve inversion “could be heralding a contraction of the economy,”

says Gary Duncan, chief economist at Oxford Economics.