U.S. Treasury yields were higher on Wednesday as investors considered the state of the economy and digested a weak auction on the five-year note.
At 4:37 a.m. ET, the yield on the 10-year Treasury was up by over two basis points to 4.5639%, holding above the 4.5% mark it initially crossed Tuesday. The 2-year Treasury yield was last less than one basis points higher to 4.9580%.
Yields climbed higher Tuesday after a Treasury Department auction of 5-year notes worth $70 billion saw weak demand. A closely watched demand gauge, the bid-to-cover ratio came in at 2.3, lower than the 2.45 10-auction average.
Investors also considered how the economy is faring and awaited fresh economic data due throughout the week which could inform Federal Reserve policymaking.
That includes the personal consumption expenditures price index on Friday, which is the Fed’s favored inflation gauge. Several Fed officials are also due to give remarks this week, which investors will be scanning for fresh hints about the path ahead for interest rates.
Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari in Tuesday told CNBC that he was looking for “many more months of positive inflation data” before being comfortable with cutting rates.
Fed officials have in recent weeks widely indicated that patience is needed when it comes to rate cuts, and that they are looking for economic data to show inflation is sustainably returning to the central bank’s 2% target before moving to ease policy.
Minutes from the last central bank meeting, which were released last week, also showed uncertainty from the Fed about the outlook for rate cuts.
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