I deconstructed a bond cash flow today (5%, trading at par). It seems very counterintuitive to me that the principle of a bond going up in "value" over time, the total cashflow going up in value over time, yet the clean price constantly decreases until the coupon payment date. Pricing bonds is based on the fact that money's value decreases over time, which leads to the definition of "bond discounting". Yet while they are practically going back to the original value, they are constantly susceptib