U.S. Treasury yields were slightly lower on Thursday ahead of the Federal Reserve‘s annual meet in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note dipped 2 basis points to 3.082% after rising on Wednesday. The 10-year yield climbed above the 3% level for the first time in a month earlier in the week.
The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond fell 2 basis points to 3.298%, while the yield on the short-term 2-year Treasury note dropped 3 basis points to 3.354%. Yields move inversely to prices, and a basis point is equal to 0.01%.
Investors will be keenly watching for news from the economic symposium, which is expected to deliver an indication of the U.S. central bank’s position on the extent of further rate hikes needed to combat inflation.
Thursday morning will also see the publication of the latest economic data on initial jobless claims, real gross domestic product figures and GDP prices.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell will deliver a speech at 10 a.m. ET on Friday.
“Powell is likely to stress that policy still has a long way to go before the Fed will feel comfortable it has decisively turned the corner on restoring price stability,” Luke Bartholomew, senior economist at Abrdn, said in an email.
“This is important because the market has behaved recently as if the Fed has pivoted away from its hawkish stance.”
The U.S. dollar has eased against a basket of major currencies this week, sending gold prices to a one-week high as markets await further cues from the Fed.
The U.S. Treasury will auction $55 billion in 4-week bills, $50 billion in 8-week bills and $37 billion in 7-year notes.
— CNBC’s Elliot Smith contributed to this report.