Concept

Bond duration

Summary
In finance, the duration of a financial asset that consists of fixed cash flows, such as a bond, is the weighted average of the times until those fixed cash flows are received. When the price of an asset is considered as a function of yield, duration also measures the price sensitivity to yield, the rate of change of price with respect to yield, or the percentage change in price for a parallel shift in yields. The dual use of the word "duration", as both the weighted average time until repayment and as the percentage change in price, often causes confusion. Strictly speaking, Macaulay duration is the name given to the weighted average time until cash flows are received and is measured in years. Modified duration is the name given to the price sensitivity. It is (-1) times the rate of change in the price of a bond as a function of the change in its yield. Both measures are termed "duration" and have the same (or close to the same) numerical value, but it is important to keep in mind
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