 Yield curve

The maturity-indexed curve of interest rates inferred from prices of zero-coupon bonds. Continuously compounded yields $y(t,T)=-\log P(t,T)/(T-t)$ average the instantaneous forward rate over $[t,T]$. Modelling a curve requires both dependence across maturities and consistent evolution through observation time; specifying unrelated one-dimensional rate distributions is insufficient.