U.S. Treasury yields were higher on Wednesday as investors considered the state of the economy amid a series of key data releases.
At 3:30 a.m. ET, the yield on the 10-year Treasury was up by over two basis points to 4.3571%. The 2-year Treasury yield was last at 4.7931% after rising by more than two basis points.
Yields and prices have an inverted relationship. One basis point equals 0.01%.
Yields slid earlier in the week as investors assessed the latest economic data.
Figures from the Labor Department released Tuesday reflected 8.059 million job vacancies in April, below the 8.4 million Dow Jones estimate. This was the lowest level in more than three years, which raised hopes that the labor market may have eased enough for the Federal Reserve to consider cutting interest rates.
The state of the labor market is a key factor in the central bank’s decision-making when it comes to monetary policy. More key labor market data is due Friday in form of nonfarm payrolls figures and the unemployment rate for May.
That comes ahead of the next Fed meeting next week. While markets are widely anticipating interest rates to remain unchanged then, investors will be paying close attention to what policymakers might say about the outlook for policy and the economy.
This includes when interest rate cuts may begin and whether the Fed believes a recession can be avoided, concerns about which have grown as economic data has indicated that the economy and labor market are easing.
On Wednesday, the latest ISM purchasing managers index for the services sector and ADP’s private payrolls report are due and will provide further insights.
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