U.S. government debt yields ticked lower Tuesday afternoon after President Donald Trump rekindled his vocal criticism of Beijing, calling the Chinese "cheaters" though he blamed America's trade deficit on past U.S. leaders.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to price, was little changed at 1.92%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was also stagnant at 2.406%.
Trump spoke from the Economic Club of New York on Tuesday, where many had hoped the president would tout warmer relations between the nation's two largest economies. Instead, Trump struck a cooler tact.
"Since China's entrance into the World Trade Organization in 2001, no one has manipulated better or taken advantage of the United States more," Trump said. "I will not say the word 'cheated,' but nobody's cheated better than China, I will say that."
The speech kept modest pressure on U.S. yields, which remain well above where they traded last week after a marked surge on Thursday.
"What was missing were details about progress on phase one of the trade deal with China or the status of auto tariffs which may be placed on imports from the European Union," Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Independent Advisor Alliance, wrote of Trump's speech.
"He mentioned that the 'China deal could happen soon,' but he's said exactly the same thing in the past, so that wasn't anything new,"Â Zaccarelli added. "Bond yields declined slightly, but not in a meaningful way."
The U.S. bond market was closed on Monday in honor of the Veterans Day holiday.