Actually they still pay a positive amount (about 2.8%/year). What's significant is that now the 3 year pays slightly more than the 5 year (2.84% vs 2.83%). Usua

Actually they still pay a positive amount (about 2.8%/year). What's significant is that now the 3 year pays slightly more than the 5 year (2.84% vs 2.83%). Usually longer term treasuries pay more because the buyer assumes more risk to have their money locked in to a specific rate for a longer term. However, when the market expects that maybe interest rates will be falling in the near future (like in a recession), it can prefer to lock in the current rates for a longer term. When markets expect recessions, people tend to buy long term treasuries over short term treasuries which causes the yield of long term treasuries to go down and the yield of short term treasuries to go up.