U.S. Treasury yields ebbed slightly lower Friday after a key inflation reading came in near economists’ expectations.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell 2 basis points to 1.249% at 9:10 a.m. ET. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond dipped 1.2 basis points to 1.904%. Yields move inversely to prices. One basis point equals 0.01%.
The personal consumption expenditures index — the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation — increased 3.5% in June from a year prior. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected a 3.6% jump.
The June reading “was the second consecutive deceleration in the [month-over-month] pace of core-PCE — consistent with the notion that inflation might have peaked for the time being,” BMO Capital Markets’ Ian Lyngen said in a note.
The Fed said in its latest policy decision on Wednesday that while progress had been made in terms of its economic targets, “substantial further progress” would be needed on its inflation and employment goals before it considered tightening its ultra-easy monetary policy.
The trend on the 10-year yield is down for the year. Five months ago it spiked above 1.7%, but has pulled back, hitting a new low earlier this month and settling in the 1.25% range since.
—CNBC’s Tanaya Macheel and Michael Bloom contributed reporting.
