Treasury yields moved lower on Monday morning as traders digested comments from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and the prospect of new fiscal stimulus.
Earlier, the 30-year yield hit a high of 2.006%, its highest level since February 2020.
At around 12:00 p.m. ET, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to price, was lower at around 1.15%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was lower at 1.93%.
The Senate and House each passed a budget resolution on Friday, starting the reconciliation process that would allow President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion rescue package to get through the Democratic-held Senate with a simple majority. The package includes $1,400 stimulus checks, supplemental jobless benefits and Covid-19 vaccine and testing funds.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday that if Biden’s stimulus plan is passed the U.S. could return to full employment by 2022.
“There’s absolutely no reason why we should suffer through a long slow recovery,” Yellen said during an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I would expect that if this package is passed that we would get back to full employment next year.”
On Friday, the monthly jobs report showed that the unemployment rate ticked down in January. The headline unemployment rate declined to 6.3% from 6.7% in January, according to the Labor Department, but some of the underlying numbers were less encouraging.
There are no major economic data releases on Monday.
The U.S. Treasury will auction $54 billion of 13-week bills and $51 billion of 26-week bills.
— CNBC’s Pippa Stevens contributed to this article.
