Treasuries Remain Stuck In The Red Following Fed Minutes

(RTTNews) - Treasuries moved moderately lower during trading on Wednesday, offsetting the upward move that was seen in the previous session.

Bond prices moved to the downside in early trading and remained stuck firmly in the red throughout the session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose by 2.8 basis points to 2.537 percent.

The early weakness among treasuries was partly due to trepidation ahead of the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting.

Treasuries remained firmly negative as the minutes confirmed that the Fed has begun discussions about eventually raising interest rates.

While the minutes did not suggest that an interest rate hike is imminent, the Fed said meeting participants discussed issues associated with the eventual normalization of the stance and conduct of monetary policy.

The minutes also noted that a staff presentation outlined several approaches to raising short-term interest rates when it becomes appropriate.

Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at the Lindsey Group, said, "With the removal of QE still firmly on track, the FOMC minutes from the April meeting seemed more about a discussion about the logistics of how short term interest rates will eventually rise rather than giving any clues to when this might occur."

"The timing we know is 'data dependent' and won't be discussed in earnest until the fall when QE is scheduled to be done," he added.

Following several quiet days, the economic calendar finally picks up on Thursday with the release of reports on weekly jobless claims and existing home sales.

Bond traders may also keep an eye on the Treasury Department's announcements of the details of next week's auctions of two-year, five-year, and seven-year notes.