Treasuries Close Little Changed After Recovering From Early Weakness

(RTTNews) - After coming under pressure early in the session, treasuries regained ground over the course of the trading day on Monday.

Bond prices climbed well off their early lows, ending the day nearly unchanged. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, inched up by less than a basis point to 0.933 percent after reaching a high of 0.958 percent.

The early weakness among treasuries came in reaction to news that President Donald Trump has finally signed a $2.3 trillion government spending bill that includes approximately $900 billion in coronavirus relief funds.

Trump had previously resisted signing the legislation, calling for $600 in direct payments to individuals to be increased to $2,000.

House Democrats are set to vote on an increase in the direct payments later today, while Trump has called on the Republican-controlled Senate to do the same.

Trading activity remained subdued, however, with many traders still away from their desks ahead of the New Year's Day holiday on Friday.

A lack of major U.S. economic data also kept traders on the sidelines, although reports on home prices, pending home sales, and weekly jobless claims may attract attention in the coming days.

Meanwhile, the Treasury Department revealed its auctions of $58 billion worth of two-year notes and $59 billion worth of five-year notes attracted below average demand.

The Treasury is scheduled to announce the result of its auction of $59 billion worth of seven-year notes on Tuesday.