U.S. Treasury yields gained after inflation data Thursday gave investors more hope that the Federal Reserve will continue to hold rates steady before beginning cuts in 2024.
The 10-year Treasury yield was up by about 6 basis points at 4.328%, after having fallen below 4.3% for the first time since September on Wednesday. The 2-year Treasury yield was 6 basis points higher at 4.707%. It had hit its lowest level since mid-July on Wednesday.
Yields decline when bond prices rise, and one basis point equals 0.01%.
The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge rose in line with expectations on Thursday. The October personal consumption expenditures price index, excluding food and energy prices, gained 0.2% for the month and 3.5% on a year-over-year basis, according to the Commerce Department. Both figures met expectations from economists polled by Dow Jones.
Investors weighed the path ahead for interest rates as hopes of the Federal Reserve being done with its rate-hiking cycle have grown in recent weeks. Fed Governor Christopher Waller said Tuesday he is “increasingly confident that policy is currently well positioned to slow the economy and get inflation back to 2 percent.”
Benchmark interest rates of 5.25%-5.50% are expected to remain unchanged when the Fed meets in December, when investors also hope the central bank will provide clues about the course of policy next year. Fed officials have not yet addressed this question, and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has said rate cuts were not discussed at the central bank’s last meeting.
— CNBC’s Jeff Cox contributed to this report.
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