Treasury yields rise after Biden picks Powell over Brainard for top Fed post

U.S. Treasury yields rose Monday after President Joe Biden renominated Jerome Powell for a second term as Federal Reserve chair.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note climbed by 9.3 basis points to 1.629% in afternoon trading The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond advanced by 6.4 basis points to 1.971%. Yields move inversely to prices and 1 basis point is equal to 0.01%.

Treasurys

TICKER	COMPANY	YIELD	CHANGE
US1M	U.S. 1 Month Treasury	5.37%	+0.009
US3M	U.S. 3 Month Treasury	5.396%	UNCH
US6M	U.S. 6 Month Treasury	5.389%	-0.001
US1Y	U.S. 1 Year Treasury	5.211%	+0.008
US2Y	U.S. 2 Year Treasury	4.948%	+0.015
US10Y	U.S. 10 Year Treasury	4.467%	-0.008
US30Y	U.S. 30 Year Treasury	4.573%	-0.007

Biden on Monday morning announced Powell as his pick for the central bank chief nomination in a closely-watched decision. The president named Fed Governor Lael Brainard, seen as the main competition for the top job, as vice chair.

"This is remarkably consistent with expectations and, if anything, adds to the curve flattening pressure. There was a great deal of focus on the nomination, which implies the passing of the event risk might see some follow-through price action," Ian Lyngen, BMO's head of U.S. rates, said.

If Brainard had been nominated for the top Fed position, many expected more dovish monetary policy, meaning it may have taken the Fed longer to pull back its emergency stimulus measures.

The bond market has been volatile in recent weeks. In November, the 10-year Treasury yield has traded above 1.63% and below 1.42%.

On Monday, existing home sales data for October showed that sales improved month-over-month but were well below the level from the same month last year.

Auctions were held on Monday for $57 billion of 13-week bills, $51 billion of 26-week bills, $58 billion of 2-year notes and $59 billion of 5-year notes.

— CNBC's Yun Li and Jesse Pound contributed to this market report.