U.S. Treasury yields on Wednesday were slightly higher as investors awaited testimony about monetary policy from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and looked to fresh economic data.
At 6:23 a.m. ET, the yield on the 10-year Treasury was up by over 2 basis points at 4.162%. The 2-year Treasury was last 1 basis point higher at 4.566%.
Yields and prices move in opposite directions. One basis point equals 0.01%.
Investors on Wednesday will be following testimony from Fed Chairman Powell, who is set to speak before the House Financial Services Committee. Many are hoping that Powell will provide fresh hints about what the path ahead for monetary policy could look like, especially when and how often interest rates may be cut this year.
Fed officials have said they expect some cuts to take place this year, but have repeatedly said that they are looking for more data evidence that inflation is easing toward the 2% target before they make any policy decisions. They have also broadly steered clear of laying out a timeline for cuts.
Markets were last pricing in rate cuts to begin in June, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool. Two more Fed meetings are scheduled before then.
Powell is also expected to speak before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday.
On the data front, January JOLTs job openings figures are expected, as are ADP’s private payrolls report for February. This comes ahead of the February jobs report, which covers nonfarm payrolls and the unemployment rate.
The data is likely to provide insights into the state of the labor market and could indicate whether the economy is cooling, which many investors would see as a signal that rate cuts could begin soon.
