The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield fell Friday as traders parsed the closely watched inflation data released earlier in the day.
The 10-year Treasury yield slipped around 4 points to 4.667%. The yield on the 2-year Treasury lost almost a basis point to trade at, 4.987%.
Yields and prices move in opposite directions and one basis point equals 0.01%.
March’s core personal consumption expenditures price index excluding food and energy came in at 2.8% on an annualized basis, slightly above the 2.7% rate anticipated by economists polled by Dow Jones. Including food and energy, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge increased 2.7% from a year ago, also higher than the consensus forecast of 2.6%.
Both measures rose 0.3% month over month, in line with expectations.
“There wasn’t any startling news,” said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott. “It mostly matched expectations, or at least prior numbers, to suggest once again that inflation is at least moderating to a point that keeps the prospects of a rate cut or two on the table.”
During the previous session, the yields on the 10-year Treasury and 2-year Treasury soared to their highest levels since November. That followed the release of a weaker-than-expected U.S. gross domestic product reading.
GDP grew 1.6% in the first quarter, far lower than the 2.4% economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected. The report also reflected that consumer prices rose far more than in the previous quarter, sparking renewed concerns about sticky inflation and the outlook for Federal Reserve monetary policy.
These releases come ahead of the Fed’s policy meeting next week, at which the central bank is expected to keep rates unchanged. Uncertainty remains around what guidance policymakers may give on interest rates.
Questions around whether there could be fewer rate cuts than anticipated this year, or even none at all until 2025, have emerged in recent weeks as market expectations for when the first rate cut will take place were pushed backward.