US Treasury yields fell on Wednesday as investors continued to evaluate when the Federal Reserve is likely to next raise interest rates, and anticipated upcoming data releases including next week's employment report for March. Yields have increased since the Federal Reserve expressed caution last week over the domestic economy, with numerous Fed officials this week presenting a more upbeat view on inflation and growth.
"We're sort of in a holding pattern, seeing whatever commentary we get from various FOMC participants and then getting ready for the data that will be coming over the next two weeks," said Jim Vogel, an interest rate strategist at FTN Financial in Memphis, Tennessee. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, who rang alarm bells over falling inflation expectations last month, said on Wednesday that he would like to see more strength in those market-based measures even though they have rebounded over the last few weeks.
US benchmark 10-year Treasury notes gained 17/32 in price to yield 1.88 percent, down from 1.94 percent on Tuesday. Volumes have been light this week, however, before Friday's holiday, when the bond market will be closed, and with few major economic releases until durable goods orders on Thursday and fourth-quarter gross domestic product on Friday. "Moving into next week, the focus will be on payrolls for Friday," said Dan Mulholland, head of Treasuries trading at Credit Agricole in New York. Bonds had rallied on Tuesday on safety buying after the Brussels terrorist attacks, before weakening in the afternoon on relatively heavy corporate debt supply.
Comments
Comments are closed.