Treasuries Move Modestly Lower After Seeing Early Strength

(RTTNews) - After moving to the upside early in the session, treasuries moved modestly lower over the course of the trading day on Monday.

Bond prices pulled back well off their early highs and into negative territory. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose 2.1 basis points to 4.260 percent after hitting a low of 4.212 percent.

Treasuries initially benefited from their appeal as a safe haven amid heightened political uncertainty after President Joe Biden announced his decision to drop out of the presidential race.

Biden has been under pressure to step aside after his disastrous debate performance raised questions about his fitness to serve another term as president.

While Biden and other prominent Democrats have and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, noted, "There is still a lot of uncertainty until the new Democratic candidate is confirmed."

"That means we could see heightened volatility over the next few weeks, with assets quickly changing direction depending on the latest comments from Washington," he added.

Buying interest waned over the course of the morning, however, as traders looked ahead to the release of key economic data later in the week.

The Commerce Department's report on personal income and spending in June is likely to be in focus, as it includes readings on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve.

The data could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates, with the Fed currently widely expected to lower interest rates by a quarter point in September.

On Tuesday, the National Association of Realtors is scheduled to release its report on existing home sales in the month of June