Why have long-term interest rates fallen?
In theory, we have: Long term interest rate = Equilibrium real interest rate + Expected inflation + Term premium We note that, in the United States and the euro zone, the very low level of long-term interest rates presupposes that: Either the equilibrium real interest rate (the rate that balances savings and investment in the long term) has fallen markedly, which may be due either to excess savings or to the fact that monetary policy maintains an influence on the equilibrium real interest rate even in the long term; Or the term premium has fallen markedly, which may result from the low variability of inflation and long-term interest rates, leading to a low risk associated with holding a bond.