Treasuries Surge Following Tamer-Than-Expected Inflation Data

(RTTNews) - Treasuries moved sharply higher during trading on Wednesday, as traders reacted positively to a closely watched report on consumer price inflation.

Bond prices surged early in the session and remained firmly positive throughout the day. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, slumped 8.9 basis points to 4.356 percent.

The ten-year yield closed lower for the third straight session, falling to its lowest closing level in well over a month.

The jumped by treasuries came following the release of a Labor Department report showing consumer prices in the U.S. rose by slightly less than expected in the month of April.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index increased by 0.3 percent in April after rising by 0.4 percent in March. Economists had expected consumer prices to climb by another 0.4 percent.

Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices still rose by 0.3 percent in April after climbing by 0.4 percent in March. The increase in core prices matched economist estimates.

The report also said the annual rate of consumer price growth slowed to 3.4 percent in April from 3.5 percent in March, in line with expectations.

The annual rate of core consumer price growth decelerated to 3.6 percent in April from 3.8 percent in March. The slowdown also matched estimates.

Following yesterday's hotter-than-expected producer price inflation data, the report added to recently renewed optimism about the outlook for interest rates.

"The CPI print offered a modicum of hope that inflation is cooling, albeit slowly," said Quincy Krosby, Chief Global Strategist for LPL Financial.

She added, "The Fed will certainly need a series of cooler reports for adjusting its rate easing timetable, but the CPI report suggests that the path towards 2% is a bit less bumpy."

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department released a separate report showing retail sales in the U.S. unexpectedly came in flat in the month of April.

The Commerce Department said retail sales were virtually unchanged in April after climbing by a downwardly revised 0.6 percent in March.

Economists had expected retail sales to rise by 0.4 percent compared to the 0.7 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

Excluding sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales edged up by 0.2 percent in April after jumping by 0.9 percent in March. The uptick matched economist estimates.

Trading on Thursday may be impacted by reaction to another slew of U.S. economic data, including reports on weekly jobless claims, industrial production and import and export prices.