Treasuries Show Strong Move Back To The Upside After Rate Cut

(RTTNews) - Following the sell-off seen in the previous session, treasuries showed a strong move back to the upside during trading on Thursday.

Bond prices saw a notable advance in morning trading and remained firmly positive throughout the afternoon. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, slid 8.5 basis points to 4.341 percent.

The ten-year yield gave back ground after surging by 13.7 basis points on Wednesday to its highest closing level in four months.

The early strength among treasuries came as traders looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement later in the afternoon.

Treasuries saw continued strength as the Fed announced its widely expected decision to lower interest rates by a quarter point.

After aggressively slashing interest rates by half a percentage point in September, the Fed said it has decided to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 4.50 to 4.75 percent.

The central bank said its decision to continue lowering rates comes as labor market conditions have generally eased, while inflation continues to make progress towards its 2 percent objective.

However, the Fed said the risks to achieving its dual goals of maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run are roughly in balance.

"The economic outlook is uncertain, and the Committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate," the Fed said.

In considering future adjustments to rates, the central bank said it will continue to carefully assess incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell stressed during his post-meeting press conference that rates are not on "any preset course" and said the central bank will make future decisions "meeting by meeting."

Powell also said the Fed is "well positioned" to deal with the risks to both sides of its dual mandate, noting the it can cut rates more slowly or more quickly depending on the economic developments.

Meanwhile, the Fed chief said Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election will have no effect on policy decisions in the near term but acknowledged the administration's policies could have economic effects over time that would need to be taken into account.

Trading on Friday may be impacted by reaction to the University of Michigan's preliminary report on consumer sentiment in the month of November, which includes readings on consumers' inflation expectations.