Yield-curve shape in which short- and long-maturity bonds offer similar yields, often signaling transition or uncertainty.
A flat yield curve appears when short-, intermediate-, and long-term yields are close to one another. The market is no longer paying much extra yield for extending maturity.
A flat curve often signals that investors are uncertain about where policy rates, inflation, or growth will settle next. It can show up when the market is moving from a normal curve toward an inversion, or back the other way.
Flat curves matter because they reduce the reward for holding longer maturities while still leaving investors exposed to meaningful rate risk.
That can change:
If the 2-year Treasury yields 4.55% and the 10-year Treasury yields 4.58%, the curve is close to flat because the maturity premium is tiny.
A flat curve can appear during major repricing periods. The shape says yields are similar across maturities, not that markets are calm.
An inverted curve goes further and pushes shorter maturities above longer ones.