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 Treasury 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.