U.S. Treasury yields inched higher on Monday as investors awaited key economic data set to be published this week which could provide hints about the outlook for interest rates and the state of the economy.
At 4:02 p.m. ET, the yield on the 10-year Treasury was higher by around 2 to 4.278%. The 2-year Treasury yield was last up more than 3 basis points at 4.723%.
Yields and prices have an inverted relationship and one basis point equals 0.01%.
Treasurys
New home sales in January came in below economists' estimates as mortgage interest rates remained elevated. Sales of new single-family homes came in at 661,000 for the month, an increase of 1.5%, according to seasonally adjusted numbers the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development released Monday. This was lower than the Dow Jones estimate for 680,000 and 2.4%, respectively.
Investors are looking ahead to more economic data due this week, some of which could inform the Federal Reserve's decisions on interest rate policy. This includes the Fed's favored inflation gauge, the personal consumption expenditures price index, which is slated for Thursday.
Fed officials have in recent weeks repeatedly said they are looking to data for more evidence that inflation is moving toward the 2% target to become more confident about cutting interest rates.
Both the latest consumer price index and producer price index readings came in higher than expected, prompting concerns about how long it will take for inflation to ease and whether this means interest rates could stay higher for longer than previously hoped.
Markets were last widely expecting the first interest rate cut to take place in June.
Other key data this week includes updated gross domestic product figures on Wednesday. Questions about whether the economy will be able to avoid a recession as rates remain elevated have been rife among investors.