Go back to May 2013 and the “taper tantrum”. Flash forward to Fed Reserve’s announcement in December the same year of the start of taper. And then the eventual commencement of the taper in January this year.
With additional Fed asset purchases now down to only $ from $ at the end of 2013, and the taper seen to be fairly on course, the market has found itself at a stage where the betting has turned to when the “lift off” would happen. In other words, markets are speculating when the Fed would begin to hike the Fed Funds target rate.