U.S. Treasury yields edged higher Thursday as bond trading resumed after the Veterans Day closure and investors looked ahead to fresh inflation and housing data for clues about the economy and the Federal Reserve’s next move.
The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note — the benchmark for mortgages, auto loans and credit card debt — was up 2 basis points at 5.0100%.
The 2-year Treasury note yield, which is more sensitive to short-term Federal Reserve interest rate decisions, was 5 basis points higher at 4.7800%. The longer-dated 30-year Treasury note yield — which often moves on geopolitical developments — was steady at 5.3503%.
One basis point equals 0.01%, or 1/100th of 1%, and yields and prices move inversely to one another.
The rise in yields comes as traders await more domestic data releases this week for fresh insights into the U.S. economic picture.
On Friday, the latest monthly producer price inflation print, which tracks wholesale inflation, is expected to show a 0.4% rise in October, down from the 1.3% surge in September.
Before that, investors are also looking out for October’s home sales report from the National Association of Realtors, due later Thursday. Existing home sales rose by 1.5% in September to 3.99 million, up from a two-year low the previous month, and are expected to reach 4 million last month, according to Trading Economics estimates.
Oil prices were broadly flat in early trading, as Middle East negotiations remain deadlocked. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were up less than 0.1% at $86.59 a barrel, while Brent crude rose 0.17% to $92.92.