Treasuries Extend Upward Trend With Modestly Higher Close

(RTTNews) - Treasuries moved modestly higher during trading on Monday, extending the upward trend seen over the past two weeks.

Bond prices moved roughly sideways in afternoon trading, hovering in positive territory. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, edged down by 1.5 basis points to 1.915 percent.

With the modest drop on the day, the ten-year yield ended the session at its lowest closing level in well over a month.

The strength among treasuries came as traders continued to react to last week's monetary policy statement by the Federal Reserve.

The Fed's statement was perceived as dovish, as the central bank lowered its forecast for interest rates at the end of the year.

Traders now expect the Fed to lower rates slower than previously anticipated, although most analysts continue to predict the first rate hike in June.

On the economic front, the National Association of Realtors released a report showing a rebound in existing home sales in the month of February.

NAR said existing home sales rose 1.2 percent to an annual rate of 4.88 million in February after tumbling 4.9 percent to a rate of 4.82 million in January. Economists had expected existing home sales to climb to a rate of 4.90 million.

Economic data is likely to be in focus on Tuesday, with traders likely to keep a close eye on reports on consumer price inflation and new home sales.