U.S. Treasury yields were lower on Wednesday as uncertainty around the outlook for monetary policy and the economy, along with some weak earnings reports from Wall Street, clouded risk sentiment.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell just over 5 percentage points to 3.4812% while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond shed around 4 percentage points to 3.6069%. Yields move inversely to prices.
Stocks sold off on Tuesday and futures pointed to further declines on Wall Street after Goldman Sachs missed earnings expectations on the back of a drop in investment banking and asset management revenues.
Investors will be watching December’s producer price index reading, a measure of prices that U.S. businesses get for the goods and services they produce, for further signs of inflation slowing down. The wholesale inflation print will be published at 9:30 a.m. ET alongside December’s retail sales figures.
Uncertainty has abounded among traders in recent weeks as to whether the Federal Reserve will increase rates by 25 or 50 basis points at its next meeting on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1.
Many are concerned that the pace of the rate hikes implemented by the Fed so far in its fight against high inflation could drag the U.S. economy into a recession, and are hoping that the central bank will be able to further slow, or completely pause, its hiking cycle this year.
Four Federal Reserve officials are set to deliver speeches Wednesday: Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker, St. Louis Fed President Jim Bullard and Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan.
Auctions will be held Wednesday for $36 billion of 17-week Treasury bills and $12 billion of 20-year bonds.