U.S. Treasury yields rose on Wednesday as investors weighed the latest economic data and assessed the outlook for Federal Reserve policy.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield briefly topped 4% for the first time since November, and was up 8 basis points at 3.996%. The yield on the 2-year Treasury was last trading at 4.881% after rising more than 8 basis points.
The 1-year yield climbed 3 basis points to over 5%.
Yields and prices move in opposite directions and one basis point equals 0.01%.
Treasurys
Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari said Wednesday that he's "open to the possibility" of a larger interest rate increase at this month's policy meeting, "whether it's 25 or 50 basis points," but hasn't made up his mind yet.
Manufacturing remained in contraction during February as production and new orders slowed, the Institute for Supply Management reported Wednesday. The closely watched ISM Manufacturing Index registered a 47.7% reading, representing the percentage of companies reporting expansion. A reading below 50% represents contraction.
Economists had been looking for a headline reading of 47.8%, according to Dow Jones.
Later in the week, initial jobless claims data and ISM's PMI report for the services sector are due and a series of Fed speakers will make remarks. Investors will be scanning their comments for insights into whether tighter monetary policy could continue for longer.
Since early 2022, the Fed has been announcing measures such as interest rate hikes as it aims to ease inflation. Many investors are hoping for a pause in rate increases this year as they fear keeping rates too high for too long could lead to a recession.
Recent economic data, however, has suggested that pressures from rising prices are continuing.
— CNBC's Jeff Cox contributed to this report.