Treasuries Regain Ground Following Last Friday's Sell-Off

(RTTNews) - After showing a significant move to the downside last Friday, treasuries regained some ground during trading on Monday.

Bond prices moved higher in morning trading and remained firmly positive throughout the afternoon. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell by 2.8 basis points to 1.607 percent.

The rebound by treasuries came as some traders looked to pick up bonds at reduced levels after the ten-year yield ended the previous session at its highest closing level in over a year.

Trading activity was somewhat subdued, however, as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.

The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, but traders will be paying close attention to any changes to the accompanying statement.

Some traders are hoping the Fed will address the recent spike in bond yields, which has led to considerable volatility in Wall Street in recent sessions.

Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showing an acceleration in the pace of growth in New York manufacturing activity in the month of March.

The New York Fed said its general business conditions index climbed to 17.4 in March from 12.1 in February, with a positive reading indicating growth in regional manufacturing activity. Economists had expected the index to rise to 14.5

Looking ahead, the New York Fed said firms remained optimistic that conditions would improve over the next six months, anticipating significant increases in employment.

Trading on Tuesday may be impacted by reaction to reports on retail sales, industrial production and homebuilder confidence.