Treasuries Move Higher Ahead Of Next Week's Fed Meeting

(RTTNews) - Treasuries moved notably higher during trading on Friday, extending the strong upward move seen over the past several sessions.

After seeing early strength, bond prices gave back ground in mid-day trading only to move back to the upside going into the close. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell by 4.1 basis points to 1.639 percent.

With the decrease on the day, the ten-year yield extended a recent downward trend, hitting its lowest closing level in three years.

Treasuries moved higher amid a drop in overseas bond yields, as sovereign debt yields from Japan to Germany hit record lows.

The decrease in bond yields reflected trepidation ahead of next week's Federal Reserve meeting as well as Britain's referendum later this month on whether to stay in the European Union.

The Fed's two-day monetary policy meeting will culminate with the release of the announcement next Wednesday followed by a press conference by Fed Chair Janet Yellen.

Recent economic data suggests the Fed will leave interest rates unchanged, but traders are likely to pay close attention to the accompanying statement.

On the U.S. economic front, the University of Michigan released a report this morning showing a modest drop in consumer sentiment in the month of June.

The report said the preliminary reading on the consumer sentiment index for June edged down to 94.3 compared to the final May reading of 94.7. Economists had expected the index to dip to 94.0.

The modest decrease by the consumer sentiment index came after it reached its highest level since June of 2015 last month.

While the Fed announcement is likely to be in the spotlight next week, traders will also be presented with a slew of U.S. economic data.

The reports on retail sales, industrial production, housing starts and producer and consumer price inflation could impact the outlook for future Fed decisions.