How strong is the correlation between the inflation rate and 30-year treasury yields? The following data published by Fuji Securities are given as pairs of inflation rates and treasury yields for selected years over a 35-year period.

Inflation Rate 30-Year Treasure Yield

1.57% ...........3.05%

2.23 ............3.93

2.17 ............4.68

4.53 ............6.57

7.25 ............8.27

9.25 ............ 12.01

5.00 ............ 10.27

4.62 ............ 8.45

Compute the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient to determine the strength of the correlation between these two variables. Comment on the strength and direction of the correlation.