US Treasury yields faltered Wednesday morning, awaiting a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell later in the day.
The yield on the 10-year government bond fell slightly to 1.031% shortly after 7 p.m. ET, while the yield on the 30-year government bond fell to 1.789%. Revenues move inversely with prices.
US Treasury yields were modestly lower at the start of the trading session, and Powell was expected to provide an update on the central bank’s economic outlook and monetary policy during the pandemic.
Many investors hope that Powell and his colleagues will avoid the word ‘tapering’, the process by which the central bank would curb its monthly bond purchases, keeping the financial system adrift with cash and encouraging investors to take risks despite rich equity. . valuations.
The Fed will release its interest rate decision at 2 p.m. ET, and Powell is expected to speak with reporters at 2:30 p.m. ET.
The rollout of coronavirus vaccines helped improve the International Monetary Fund’s global economic outlook, which was released Tuesday. The IMF now predicts that the world economy will grow by 5.5% in 2021, 0.3% higher than in October.
December data for durable goods orders is expected to be released Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Weekly EIA inventory change data for gasoline, crude oil, Cushing crude oil, and distillate will then appear at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Auctions will be held Wednesday for $ 25 billion in 105 day bills, $ 30 billion in 154 day bills and $ 28 billion in 2-year floating rate bonds.
– CNBC’s Thomas Franck contributed to this report.