Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during afternoon trading on April 09, 2024 in New York City.
U.S. Treasury yields advanced on Tuesday, after data on labor costs rose more than forecasted while traders awaited news out of the Federal Reserve meeting.
The 2-year Treasury yield added around 7 basis points to 5.043%, above the closely watched 5% level. The yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped 7.6 basis points to 4.688%.
Yields and prices move in opposite directions. One basis point equals 0.01%.
Treasury yields took a leg up after the release of the employment cost index, a measure of wages for civilian workers. The index jumped 1.2% for the first quarter, above the 1% consensus estimate from economists polled by Dow Jones.
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"There is nothing in this series [of data] to suggest there is a near-term path for the Fed to contemplate cutting rates; Powell will need a lot more convincing at this point," said Ian Lyngen, head of U.S. rates strategy at BMO Capital Markets.
That came as investors awaited updates out of the Federal Reserve's meeting, which began Tuesday and concludes Wednesday with a fresh interest rate decision and press conference. Investors are looking for guidance about the outlook for interest rates as questions swirl around when and by how much monetary policy can start being eased.
Markets had been hoping that rates would be cut as soon as June, but this timeline has since moved to September after recent economic data has suggested that inflation is persistent and the economy remains resilient.
Money Report
Elsewhere, data out of the euro zone showed inflation was 2.4% in April, in line with estimates, while gross domestic product rose by 0.3% in the first quarter of 2024.
