Interest rates have soared higher for nearly three years. Interest rates have broken their 40-year trend of declining rates from 1981. This is a total game changer. But trends ebb and flow. 
Interest rates rose sharply into late October, but a correction has been unfolding - rates have been declining as real and anecdotal evidence on weakening economic data points increases.
Let's check out a few charts of the iShares 20 Plus Year Treasury Bond exchange-traded fund ( TLT) to see how the short- and long-term trends could play out in the months ahead.
In this daily Point and Figure chart of the TLT, below, we can see a potential upside price target in the $123 area.
In this weekly Japanese candlestick chart of TLT, below, we can see a bottom reversal pattern in October with extreme oversold readings from the slow stochastic indicator. Reversals on candlestick charts do not give you price targets.
In this monthly Japanese candlestick chart of TLT, below, we can see a pattern called 8-10 record lows (in a bull market we would look for 8-10 record highs). This is a longer-term bottom reversal pattern. Prices have made 10 new lows (red candles) since December 2021. After one finds 8, 9 or 10 records down (or up) you need to be alert for a reversal. The November candle is going to be a harami pattern with two more days of trading in the month.
In this next chart we return to the Point and Figure approach with a weekly chart. Here the software projects the $65 area as a potential downside price target. Are much higher interest rates in the cards? We'll see.
Bottom line strategy: All charting techniques have limitations, but they all bring something to the table to the investor with an open mind. These charts (above) are telling me a story -- in the next several weeks the risk is for lower interest rates as the global economy weakens but longer term we have a bigger risk of much higher interest rates perhaps in late 2023 or into 2024.
