Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on November 02, 2023 in New York City.
U.S. Treasury yields rose on Thursday as investors parsed economic data and comments from Federal Reserve officials for clues about what could be on the horizon for the economy.
The 10-year Treasury was up by 13 basis point at 4.636%. The 2-year Treasury yield rose by nearly 9 basis points to trade at 5.033%, topping the closely watched 5% level. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond popped more than 11 basis points to 4.771%.
Yields and prices move in opposite directions. One basis point equals 0.01%.
The move higher followed a Treasury auction that saw weak demand. The department sold $24 billion in 30-year bonds. The sale's bid-to-cover ratio, a measure of demand, was the weakest in roughly two years. Indirect and direct bidders were also at their weakest levels in since 2021.
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Later in the day, investors parsed commentary from Fed chair Jerome Powell. He said the central bank was "not confident" it has done what's needed to bring inflation down
The Fed left interest rates unchanged when it met last week, but the possibility of further interest rate hikes was not taken off the table and Powell noted that rate cuts were not yet being considered.
That left many investors with questions about how long interest rates could stay elevated and if a recession is likely to hit the U.S. economy.
