Treasury yields move higher as investors await housing data
U.S. government debt prices were lower on Tuesday morning as traders awaited for a key speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell later this week.
At around 1:50 a.m. ET, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 0.6607%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond jumped to 1.3623%. Yields move inversely to prices.
Investors were monitoring news that the U.S. Trade Representative and Treasury Secretary hold a phone call with the Chinese Vice Premier Monday evening to discuss the state of the U.S.-China phase one trade agreement.
Furthermore, traders are also following coronavirus-related treatment news. The World Health Organization cautioned Monday against the use of plasma from recovered Covid-19 patients to treat new infections. Their comment came after the United States approved the treatment on Sunday.
However, the focus for investors this week is on a key speech by Jerome Powell Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Treasury is set to auction $50 billion in 2-year notes.
In terms of data, the Federal Housing Finance Agency will release its latest house price index at 9 a.m. ET; there will be new home sales and consumer confidence figures at 10 a.m. ET.