A graph that plots market yields on securities of equivalent quality but different maturities at a given point in time. The vertical axis represents the yields, while the horizontal axis depicts time to maturity. The relationship of interest rates over time, as reflected by the yield curve, will vary according to market conditions, resulting in a variety of yield curve configurations, such as normal, inverted, flat, and humpbacked or bell-shaped yield curves.

Last updated on May 14, 2009 by Jack Parsons