The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury hit its highest level in four years this week, putting upward pressure on borrowing costs and shining a spotlight on the Federal Reserve's plans to hike interest rates. While some economists are fretting that benchmark and hope rates retreat, at least one analyst said those levels are here to stay. "We can sustain a 3 percent type of interest rate," Mariann Montagne, senior investment analyst at Gradient Investments, told CNBC's "Futures Now" this week. She added that it's a matter of the right level at the right time. "The rate was 2.95 [percent] back at the end of January into February. We thought then it had run too far, too fast, [and] it came back to about the 2.72 area," said Montagne. The 10-year Treasury note began the year with a yield of 2.4 percent, and rose sharply through January and February, on worries over rising inflation. Yields caught up to 3 percent on Tuesday, topping the milestone for the first time since January 2014.

Don't blame the Fed

In the tizzy of fear over higher rates, Montagne cautioned markets to keep bond market moves in context. "This is not the work of the Federal Reserve," said Montagne. "They have laid out their plans for slow gradual rate increases. This is what the market is dictating right now." The move to 3 percent, she adds, does not portend a faster pace of rate hikes from the central bank. That scenario has been a major fear for markets. "I don't think that we're really in line for much more in the way of rate hikes other than what they've laid out for us," she said, which could include at least a few more increases. "We're seeing an economy that's looking pretty good." The Fed, under new chair Jerome Powell's leadership, has telegraphed a more hawkish approach to monetary policy this year. Markets are pricing in a 2 percent to 2.25 percent Federal Funds rate by year's end, according to CME fed funds futures. That forecast suggests another two rate hikes this year, in addition to the March increase the central bank recently meted out.

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