For most securities, maturity is the most important determinant of price sensitivity. If a change in interest rates is the same across all maturities, a “parallel” interest rate shift, the price of a long-term security will change more than the price of a short-term one. For example, if interest rates rise 100 basis points, a 30-year, 5 percent coupon Treasury bond would lose nearly 14 percent of its value, while a two-year, 5 percent coupon Treasury note would lose less than 2 percent. Because money market assets mature within one year, they generally have the least price.
