U.S. Treasury yields were little changed on Wednesday, as disappointing U.S. retail sales dampened optimism on recent news of two effective coronavirus vaccines.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was flat at 0.867%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond fell slightly to 1.612%. Yields move inversely to prices.
Treasury yields continued to slide after data published Tuesday showed that U.S. retail sales had increased by less than expected in October amid rising cases of the coronavirus. According to the U.S. Commerce Department retail sales grew by 0.3% in October, less than the 0.5% growth expected by economists polled by Dow Jones.
Cases of the coronavirus in the U.S. continued to surge, with more than 1 million new infections having been recorded in less than seven days last week. The U.S. has recorded 11,359,804 cases of Covid-19, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
October data for building permits and housing starts in the U.S. are expected out at 10:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday.
Weekly stock change figures for gasoline, crude oil, Cushing crude oil and distillate are due out at 12 p.m. ET.
Charles Evans, president of the Chicago Federal Reserve, is due to make a speech at 12 p.m. ET. New York Fed President John Williams will then speak at 2:15 p.m. ET, followed by St. Louis Fed President James Bullard at 3:20 p.m. ET.
Auctions will be held Wednesday for $25 billion worth of 105-day bills and $30 billion of 154-day bills, as well as $27 billion of 20-year bonds.
