Treasuries Extend Pullback Amid Optimism About Trade Talks

(RTTNews) - After turning lower over the course of the previous session, treasuries saw further downside during the trading day on Tuesday.

Bond prices moved lower early in the session and remained in negative territory throughout the day. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose by 3.4 basis points at 2.716 percent.

With the increase on the day, the ten-year yield closed higher for the third straight session after ending last Thursday's trading at its lowest closing level in nearly a year.

Optimism about trade talks between the U.S. and China contributed to the continued weakness among treasuries amid a second day of meetings between U.S. and Chinese officials.

The second day of negotiations coincided with an unannounced visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, with some analysts saying China could use Kim's visit as a bargaining chip in the trade talks.

In a post on Twitter this morning, President Donald Trump claimed, "Talks with China are going very well!"

Later tonight, Trump is scheduled to deliver a national address on what his administration has described as a "crisis" on the southern border.

Trump has made numerous attempts to draw public attention to problems caused by illegal immigrants amid an impasse over funding for his controversial border wall.

The president has recently suggested he could bypass Congress and obtain funding for the wall by declaring the situation on the border a national emergency.

Suggesting Trump's national address will be "full of malice and misinformation," Democratic leaders have demanded equal airtime to respond to the president's remarks.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., released a joint statement after the major broadcast and cable news networks agreed to air Trump's address.

In the bond market, treasuries extended the pullback seen over the course of the two previous sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose by 3.4 basis points at 2.716 percent.

Trading on Wednesday may be impacted by reaction to remarks by several Federal Reserve officials as well as the release of the minutes of the Fed's latest monetary policy meeting.