U.S. Treasury yields were higher on Thursday as investors considered remarks from Federal Reserve officials, scanning them for hints about the interest rate outlook.
At 4:50 a.m. ET, the yield on the 10-year Treasury was up by over three basis points to 4.5141%. The 2-year Treasury yield was last at 4.8511% after rising by less than one basis point.
Yields and prices move in opposite directions and one basis point is equivalent to 0.01%.
Investors looked to a series of remarks from Federal Reserve officials as they considered what the path ahead for monetary policy could look like. Uncertainty about when, if and how often, rates will be cut this year has been persistent in recent weeks.
Boston Fed President Susan Collins on Wednesday became the latest central bank policymaker to indicate that interest rates will likely be steady until inflation is clearly moving toward the Fed’s 2% target range.
Collins’ comments echoed those made by Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari and Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin earlier in the week. They were also all broadly in line with the guidance issued by the Fed after its latest meeting earlier this month.
More Fed officials are set to speak on Thursday and Friday. One the data front, weekly initial jobless claims are due Thursday and consumer sentiment insights are expected Friday.
Elsewhere, the Bank of England is due to announce its latest interest rate decision on Thursday. The BoE is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, but investors will be scanning Governor Andrew Bailey’s statement for hints about a potential summer rate cut.
