Abate said the bond market is worried about how well a new Fed chief will tackle inflation, and that feeds into market expectations.
"We worry that, when a new and untested Fed chairman is at the helm, even a temporary or minor loss of inflation-fighting credibility could propagate inflation fears, making the Fed's job much more difficult," he said.
"A number of papers focusing on central bank credibility have found that the more that [investors] believe the institution's commitment to rein in inflation, the less tightening is ultimately needed to alleviate price pressures," he said.
Bonds were hit hard over the past week. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond rose to 4.657 percent from 4.567 percent a week earlier while that on the 30-year bond increased to 4.852 percent from 4.773 percent. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
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