U.S. Treasury yields ticked higher on Monday morning, with the 10-year rate topping the 1.66% mark.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note climbed by 1 basis point to 1.6661% at 3:45 a.m. ET. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond added 1 basis point at 2.1084%. Yields move inversely to prices and 1 basis point is equal to 0.01%.
The rise in yields follows comments made by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Friday, at the virtual Bank for International Settlements conference.
“I do think it’s time to taper; I don’t think it’s time to raise rates,” Powell said, according to a Reuters report. Powell said that he expected inflationary pressures to ease next year.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in an interview with CNN on Sunday that she expected inflation levels to fall back to the more acceptable 2% level in the middle of the second half of 2022.
Ben Gutteridge, director of Invesco Model Portfolio Services, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Monday that he agreed with Yellen’s view that “inflationary pressures do seem to be persisting more than most had anticipated and will likely take a little bit more time to settle down, as a result.”
There are no major economic data releases due out on Monday.
Auctions are scheduled to be held on Monday for $54 billion of 13-week bills and $48 billion of 26-week bills.
