U.S. Treasury yields edge higher as Fed speakers come into focus

U.S. Treasury yields were slightly higher early Wednesday trade as speeches from senior Federal Reserve officials draw attention from investors.

What are Treasurys doing?

The 10-year Treasury note yield TMUBMUSD10Y, 1.632% was up 1.4 basis points to 1.636%. The 2-year note rate TMUBMUSD02Y, 0.165% added 0.6 basis point to 0.165%, while the 30-year bond yield TMUBMUSD30Y, 2.314% inched 0.6 basis point higher to 2.311%.

What’s driving Treasurys?

Investors will have a chance to see Fed officials offer their view on the March increase in the U.S. consumer price index that took yearly inflation measures to a two-and-a-half-year high. Following the data published Tuesday, the U.S. bond market gave a collective shrug, rallying instead of selling off as some might expect from signs of price pressures.

Analysts noted the inflation reading for March had been anticipated, and that consumer price data later this year would prove more informative to investors and also the Fed.

See: Here’s why the bond market shrugged off a surge in U.S. inflation

On the docket for Wednesday, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, Fed Vice Chairman Richard Clarida and New York Fed President John Williams are all set to speak ahead of the next Fed policy meeting on April 28.

The U.S. central bank will release its Beige Book at 2 p.m. ET, a compendium of anecdotes of business conditions collected across the country.

Read: Wall Street comes to grips with a Fed that will do what it says

What did market participants say?

“As we progress into the summer and fall, continued higher [inflation] readings and trends should they emerge and especially coupled with rising wages, would pressure the markets and Fed in the second half of 2021. We are just not there yet,” said Gregory Faranello, head of U.S. rates at AmeriVet Securities.

By Sunny Oh