U.S. government debt prices erased earlier losses as investors digested as investors digested key economic data and the first of three Treasury Department auctions for this week.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note sat slightly lower at around 2.364 percent, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was up slightly at 2.926 percent. Bond yields move inversely to prices.
Treasurys
Earlier today, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) reported that U.S. small-business confidence dipped slightly in June as business owners expressed frustration over political deadlock in Washington. Despite the drop, the metric remains near its highest level in more than a decade.
The Labor Department's JOLTS (Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey) report found that the number of job openings decreased to 5.7 million on the last business day of May. The report also noted that hires increased to 5.5 million and separations increased to 5.3 million.
The Treasury Department auctioned $24 billion in three-year notes at a high yield of 1.573 percent. The bid-to-cover ratio, an indicator of demand, was 2.87. Indirect bidders, which include major central banks, were awarded 52.6 percent. Direct bidders, which includes domestic money managers, bought 9.9 percent.
The three-year note yield hovered around 1.55 percent shortly after the sale.
Fed Governor Lael Brainard spoke at the Normalizing Central Banks' Balance Sheets: What is the New Normal? conference at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, where she noted that the Fed will likely act "soon" to to begin running off its $4.5 trillion balance sheet.
"If the data continue to confirm a strong labor market and firming economic activity, I believe it would be appropriate soon to commence the gradual and predictable process of allowing the balance sheet to run off," Brainard said, according to remarks she is to deliver at a New York Fed conference.
Meanwhile, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari spoke at the Minnesota Women's Economic Roundtable event, where he declared his doubts around economic overheating.
"It can't be that bad to find workers," Kashkari said, highlighting weak wage growth as evidence.
When answering questions at an economics event in Sydney; San Francisco Fed President John Williams said he believed a recent softening in U.S. inflation was temporary and that inflation would rise to around 2 percent over the coming year, according to Reuters.
Oil prices jump in afternoon trade as global oversupply encouraged several banks cut their price forecasts, according to Reuters.
Brent crude traded at around $47.56 a barrel Tuesday morning, up 1.37 percent, while U.S. crude was around $45.11 a barrel, up 1.60 percent.