U.S. government debt yields ticked higher Monday following a sharp increase last week, when both the 10-year Treasury note yield and two-year Treasury note yield notched multiyear highs.
Bond traders are also awaiting the latest iteration of the Federal Reserve's monthly meeting minutes, scheduled for release Wednesday.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to price, was slightly higher at 3.076 percent, up roughly 10 basis points over the past week, though off its multiyear highs clinched Friday.
The 10-year yield briefly hit 3.128 percent on Friday, its highest level since July 8, 2011 when the note yielded as high as 3.184 percent.
The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was also higher at 3.21 percent on Monday, though off its own highs from last week.
With little economic data expected on Monday or Tuesday, fixed income investors are awaiting the Federal Reserve's latest meeting minutes, due out on Wednesday.
The minutes offer Wall Street an idea of how the central bank is thinking about the strength of the economy, with many expecting that the Federal Open Market Committee will raise rates in June to stay ahead of creeping inflation.
Minutes from their previous meeting showed that "all participants" expected both the economy to strengthen and inflation to rise "in coming months," citing strong spending patterns and a consistently tight labor market.
Treasurys
Consumer prices as measured by the personal consumption expenditures price index — the Fed's preferred inflation gauge — jumped 2 percent year-on-year in March, the biggest gain since February 2017.
The rising prices appear to be rising in part thanks to a competitive labor market, with the Labor Department reporting that the unemployment rate fell to 3.9 percent in April, the lowest level since December 2000.
Tighter labor markets are usually considered a bellwether of labor input wages in classical economics: When workers are in higher demand, employers will typically have to pay more for their services. Wages, in turn, are often seen as a prelude to higher prices throughout the economy as people spend more as their paychecks grow.
Rising inflation, which threatens Treasury prices because it erodes the purchasing power of their fixed payments, puts upward pressure on rates.
Later in the week, the Treasury Department is expected to auction $33 billion in two-year notes, $36 billion in five-year notes and $30 billion in seven-year notes.