Treasury yields jump to start second quarter

Treasury
yields
rose
Monday
as
investors
kicked
off
the
second
quarter
and
weighed
the
latest
U.S.
inflation
data.

The
rate
on
the
10-year
Treasury
note
was
nearly
13
basis
points
higher
around
4.319%,
while
the
rate
on
the
2-year
note
was
9
basis
points
higher
at
4.711%.

Yields
and
prices
move
in
opposite
directions
and
one
basis
point
equals
0.01%.

Yields
rose
after
Federal
Reserve
Chair
Jerome
Powell
said
policymakers
do
not
need
to
rush
an
interest
rate
cut,
as
economic
growth
remains
strong
and
inflation
is
above
target.

“That
means
we
don’t
need
to
be
in
a
hurry
to
cut,”
the
central
bank
chief

told
public
radio’s “Marketplace”
program. “The
economy
is
strong
right
now,
and
the
labor
market
is
strong
right
now.
And
inflation
has
been
coming
down.
We
can
and
we
will
be
careful
about
this
decision
because
we
can
be.”

Traders
also
reacted
Monday
to
the
personal
consumption
expenditures
price
index
that
was
released
on
Good
Friday,
when
the
market
was
closed.
Core
PCE
inflation,
which
excludes
food
and
energy,
rose
2.8%
on
a
12-month
basis
in
February,
in
line
with
expectations,
but
still
above
the
central
bank’s
2%
target.
The
measure
was
up
0.3%
from
a
month
ago,
the
Commerce
Department
said.

Steven
Blitz,
chief
U.S.
economist
at
TS
Lombard,

told
CNBC’s “Squawk
Box
Europe”
on
Thursday
that
the
likelihood
of
one
or
no
Fed
interest
rate
cuts
this
year
was
looking “pretty
good.”
Blitz
said
markets
would
continue
to
march
higher,
however,
even
if
the
Fed
decides
against
easing
policy
this
year.

But

Canaccord
Genuity’s
Tony
Dwyer
said
he
thinks
a
deteriorating
jobs
market
and
easing
inflation
will
ultimately
push
the
Fed
to
act.

“I’m
not
saying
that
they
have
to
go
back
to
zero,
but
they
have
to
be
more
aggressive,”
the
firm’s
chief
market
strategist
told
CNBC’s “Fast
Money”
on
Thursday. “One
of
the
most
aggressive
topics
that
I
talk
to
clients
about
is
how
bad
the
incoming
data
is.”