The level is very low relative to the potential growth rate, and is also low compared with that in other major economies. Credit spreads, which are added to benchmark interest rates when firms borrow funds, have not been increasing either, unlike in Europe and the United States.
This could help explain the observation that US bond yields have not increased significantly along with expected future increases in US policy rates during 2014, a phenomenon reminiscent of the 2004–2006 US tightening cycle. This was also evident during the Eurozone crisis of 2011/12 and again in 2014, when the ECB stepped up liquidity-provision measures and ultimately implemented QE.