By Deborah Levine, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Treasury prices rose Tuesday, pushing 10-year note yields down for a fifth day, after Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke said commodity-based inflation risks would not last, striking a more balanced tone as opposed to many other Fed officials in recent days.
On tap for the bond market are the Institute for Supply Management’s report on the services sector of the U.S. economy, a Fed debt buyback, and the release of minutes from the central bank’s policy meeting last month.
Yields on 10-year notes (UST10Y 3.43, +0.01, +0.20%) , which move inversely to prices, fell 2 basis points to 3.41%. A basis point is 1/100th of a percent.
Yields on 30-year bonds (UST30Y 4.48, +0.00, +0.07%) declined 2 basis points to 4.46%.
Two-year yields (UST2YR 0.79, +0.02, +3.13%) were little changed at 0.77%.
Late Monday, Bernanke said commodity prices are being driven primarily by global supply and demand and don’t threaten a major acceleration of inflation. Read more on Bernanke’s reassurances about inflation.
“Treasurys are slightly higher ... after Fed Chairman Bernanke reinforced his views that commodity push inflation would prove to be transitory,” said bond strategists at RBS Securities.
Also slated for Tuesday are speeches from some of the more hawkish members of the Fed whose comments over the last week contributed to yields pushing higher. Read more about bonds, Fed speakers.
