U.S. Treasury yields were little changed on Tuesday as investors awaited fresh economic data that could provide insights into the state of the economy.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury was down by less than one basis point to 4.615%. The yield on the 2-year Treasury was last at 4.985% after rising by 1.4 basis points.
Yields and prices have an inverted relationship. One basis point is equivalent to 0.01%.
Economic data due throughout the week could indicate how the economy is faring and may inform Federal Reserve policymakers’ thinking ahead of their meeting on April 30-May 1.
That includes the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, the personal consumption expenditures price index for March, on Friday, as well as a reading of the gross domestic product in the first quarter, which comes Thursday.
On Tuesday, new home sales data for March is expected. Economists polled by Dow Jones are expecting a 1.2% rise for the month after the figure had declined 0.3% in February.
Investors will be assessing this week’s data for clues about whether the economy is continuing to prove resilient and whether inflationary pressures remain sticky. If this is the case, the figures could add to concerns about interest rates remaining higher for longer and there being fewer rate cuts than expected this year, or even none at all.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect that the economy grew at a 2.4% annualized pace in the first quarter. On inflation, the expectation is that the all-items PCE index rose 2.6% from a year ago, or 2.7% when excluding food and energy, the so-called core reading that policymakers use as a better gauge of long-run trends.
Fed policymakers have in recent weeks suggested that there is no rush to cut interest rates and have repeatedly said that rate cuts would begin only when they are confident that the economy is easing.
