U.S. government debt prices were under pressure on Wednesday, as investors digested the results of note sales and the release of Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) latest set of minutes.
The Treasury Department auctioned $20 billion in 10-year notes at a high yield of 1.793 percent, its highest level since March. The bid-to-cover ratio, an indicator of demand, was 2.53, slightly below a recent average of 2.57.
Indirect bidders, which include major central banks, were awarded 62.7 percent, below a recent average of 65 percent. Direct bidders, which include domestic money managers, bought 6.6 percent, below a recent average of 10 percent.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note sat higher at around 1.78 percent at 3:24 p.m. ET; it briefly broke above 1.8 percent for the first time since early June, according to Reuters. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was also up at 2.51 percent, after hitting its highest since June. Bond yields move inversely to prices.
U.S. Markets Overview: Treasurys chart
Earlier, the Treasury Department auctioned $24 billion in three-year notes at a high yield of 1.045 percent, its highest level since January. The bid-to-cover ratio, an indicator of demand, was 2.92, slightly higher than a recent average of 2.84.
The yield on the three-year yield ticked lower after the sale and last sat near 1.02 percent.
Indirect bidders, which include major central banks, were awarded 52.1 percent, near a recent average of 52 percent. Direct bidders, which include domestic money managers, bought 10.1 percent, near a recent average of 10 percent.
Reuters reported that the share of direct bidder purchase was the largest since July, while the share of indirect bidder purchase was the smallest since July.
Amid discussion around the upcoming U.S. election and fluctuation in the oil price, the U.S. Federal Reserve is back on the table on Wednesday as the FOMC release its latest set of minutes from its September meeting.
In the minutes released Wednesday, Federal Reserve officials in favor of raising interest rates expressed concerns that waiting too long to do so could send the country into recession.
New York Fed President William Dudley characterized U.S. inflation expectations as "well-anchored." Dudley also said if the Fed were to redo its quantitative easing, or asset purchase program, that "we would have gotten to a more aggressive posture sooner than we did."
In economic news, mortgage applications fell 6 percent last week as rising rates weighed. The August job openings and labor turnover survey, also released Wednesday, showed the number of job opening falling to 5.4 million.
—CNBC's Fred Imbert and Christine Wang contributed to this report.
