Treasury yields recovered from earlier declines Monday as traders assessed the prospects of future central bank moves and the state of the global economy.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury yield last added 3 basis points, trading at 4.242%. On Friday, the benchmark Treasury note had hit a 14-year high and traded as high as 4.337%. The policy-sensitive 2-year Treasury yield was last down by about 2 basis point at 4.4509%.
Yields and prices move in opposite directions, and 1 basis point equals 0.01%.
Treasurys
On Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported that some Federal Reserve officials were concerned with the pace of interest rate hikes. The yield on the 2-year and 10-year Treasury notes declined following the report, after previously trading at levels last seen in 2007 and 2008, respectively.
Markets have been fretting over the Federal Reserve hiking rates too much too quickly as they fear this policy could drag the U.S. economy into a recession, critics say.
On Monday, investors pored over U.S. manufacturing and services data from S&P Global. The firm's Composite PMI — which factors in activity from the manufacturing and services sector — fell to a two-month low of 47.3. PMI data reflects whether an economy is expanding or contracting, and by how much. A number above 50 indicates expansion; a number below it shows contraction.