1. If yields are unchanged, explain why the price of a coupon bond selling at a discount increases as its maturity date approaches. 2. If yields are unchanged, explain why the price of a coupon bond selling at a premium decreases as its maturity date approaches. Solution If yields are unchanged, the maturity amount is the par value of the bond. So, you can imagine that a bond that sells at a discount, the price of the bond is expected to increase to reach the par value by the time of the maturity. The opposite applies in the case of a bond selling at premium. Again, another way to look at it is that as the time to maturity approaches for a discounted bond, the reinvestment risk decrease and so the value of the bond increases. On the other hand, in the case of abond selling at premium, the benefits of higher coupons approaches its end and so the value of the bond decreases..