U.S. Treasury yields rose slightly on Monday as more positive news on the Covid-19 vaccine front sent investors out of the safety of government bonds.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose 1 basis points to 0.901%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond also traded slightly higher at 1.654%. Yields move inversely to prices.
The advance in yields came after Moderna said preliminary phase three trial data shows its coronavirus vaccine is more than 94% effective in preventing the coronavirus.
It marked the second drugmaker that announced a potentially effective vaccine. A vaccine candidate, developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, was found to be more than 90% effective in preventing Covid-19 among those without evidence of prior infection.
“Headlines on the effectiveness of Moderna’s vaccine as well as Biden’s announcement not to advocate for nationwide lockdowns combined with incremental positive news from Europe as Germany notes renewed restriction are showing signs of success has contributed to the bullish sentiment in risk assets,” Ian Lynegn, BMO’s head of U.S. rates, said in a note on Monday.
Last week, the benchmark 10-year rate jumped to the highest level since March 20 amid a vaccine-drive rally in risk assets.
Still, investors remained anxious about the rising new coronavirus in the U.S., which triggered some state and local officials to reimpose lockdown measures
The country has now recorded more than 11 million Covid-19 cases, tallying 1 million new cases of the virus in under a week. The country is recording close to 150,000 new cases each day, on average, according to a CNBC analysis of Johns Hopkins data.
Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida reiterated Monday the central bank’s commitment to keeping interest rates low even when unemployment start to fall.
Auctions will be held Monday for $54 billion worth of 13-week bills and $51 billion of 26-week bills.
— CNBC’s Tucker Higgins and Spencer Kimball contributed to this story.
