Treasuries Give Back Ground Amid Lingering Interest Rate Concerns

(RTTNews) - After moving higher over the course of the two previous sessions, treasuries gave back some ground during trading on Wednesday.

Bond prices climbed off their worst levels after an early move to the downside but remain in negative territory. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose 2.7 basis points to 4.406 percent.

The pullback by treasuries came as lingering concerns about the outlook for interest rates overshadowed worries about escalating geopolitical tensions.

During remarks in West Palm Beach, Florida, Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman said is more concerned about greater risks to inflation than the labor market.

"We have not yet met our inflation goal and, as I noted earlier, progress in lowering inflation appears to have stalled," said Bowman.

She added, "I see greater risks to the price stability side of our mandate, especially while the labor market remains near full employment, but it is also possible that we could see a deterioration in labor market conditions."

Treasuries saw continued weakness in afternoon trading after the Treasury Department revealed this month's auction of $16 billion worth of twenty-year bonds attracted well below average demand.

The twenty-year bond auction drew a high yield of 4.680 percent and a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.34, while the ten previous twenty-year bond auctions had an average bid-to-cover ratio of 2.61.

The bid-to-cover ratio is a measure of demand that indicates the amount of bids for each dollar worth of securities being sold.

Trading on Thursday may be impacted by reaction to the latest U.S. economic data, with reports on weekly jobless claims and existing home sales likely to attract some attention.