Forex Marketz Daily Forex News – Fully Markets Update
U.S. Treasury yields were fairly flat during North American trade hours, overnight. There was a selloff in equities which spooked investors into buying safe haven asset classes like Treasury bonds. Today the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) begins its two day monetary policy meeting with a decision due out late Wednesday during North American trade hours.
Before equity markets opened yesterday in the United States, the yield on the 2 year note hit a high of 2.32 percent. This was its highest yield level since September 9, 2008. That is when the 2 year bond yielded 2.375 percent.
As of 2:30 pm EST, yesterday, the yield on the benchmark 10 year Treasury note was flat at 2.843 percent. In the meantime, the yield on the 30 year bond was also flat, as it fetched 3.08 percent. Please remember that bond yields move inversely to prices.
Treasury and Bond Investors wait on the FOMC Monetary Policy Decision
Traders and market watchers are now looking ahead to this week’s two-day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) monetary policy meeting. It is being chaired by the newly appointed Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell. The U.S. central bank is expected to raise interest rates for the first time this year by 25 basis points.
Traders on Wall Street are expecting Powell and Company to remove the restriction of raising rates only at quarterly meetings. They should start holding news conferences after each of the eight monetary policy meetings that the FOMC holds every year. The new chair appears more willing to speak off the cuff than Yellen or Bernanke were. He favors a more casual approach.
Investors are also watching tariff news out of the White House. These new tariffs on aluminum and steel are spooking investors who are fearful of a possible trade war between the United States and China.
