House prices fall in January; consumer-confidence report due
By Polya Lesova, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Treasury prices rose on Tuesday, sending yields lower, after data showed that U.S. home prices dropped in January and as investors awaited a report on consumer confidence.
Yields on 10-year notes 10_YEAR -0.58% , which move inversely to prices, fell 2 basis points to 2.234%.
A basis point is one one-hundredth of a percentage point.
Yields remained lower after data showed that the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city composite index fell 0.8% in January to the lowest level since early 2003.
A report on March consumer-confidence is due at 10 a.m. Eastern time.
Yields on 30-year bonds 30_YEAR -0.18% slipped 1 basis point to 3.328%, and yields on 2-year notes 2_YEAR -2.25% fell 2 basis points to 0.340%.
U.S. stock futures edged lower one day after Wall Street staged a strong rally. Investors pushed up stocks after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke signaled that the central bank is likely to keep interest rates at very low levels for an extended period.
In a speech, Bernanke said it isn’t certain yet that the recent pace of improvement in the labor market will be sustained, noting that more rapid economic growth will lead to further declines in unemployment.
The nation’s central banker said that the Fed’s accommodative monetary policies should help to reduce long-term unemployment over time by providing support for demand and for the recovery.
Bernanke is due to give the third lecture in a four-part series on Tuesday at George Washington University on the role of the Fed and the recent financial crisis.
