2019.03.1915:20:00UTC+00Treasuries Show Another Modest Move To The Downside

Treasuries saw modest weakness during the trading day on Tuesday, extending the slight pullback seen in the previous session.

Bond prices regained ground after seeing initial weakness but still ended the day in negative territory. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, inched up by 1.2 basis points to 2.614 percent.

With the uptick on the day, the ten-year yield climbed further off the more than two-month closing low set last Friday.

The modest weakness among treasuries came amid continued optimism about U.S.-China trade talks along with recent indications the U.S. economy is holding up relatively well amid a global slowdown.

Trading activity remained somewhat subdued, however, as the Federal Reserve's upcoming monetary policy decision kept some traders on the sidelines.

The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, although traders are likely to keep a close eye on the accompanying statement for clues about the outlook for rates.

The central bank's economic projections and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's subsequent press conference are also likely to be in focus.

Traders largely shrugged off a report from the Commerce Department showing new orders for U.S. manufactured goods edged only slightly higher in the month of January.

The Commerce Department said factory orders inched up by 0.1 percent in January, matching the 0.1 percent uptick in December. Economists had expected orders to rise by 0.3 percent.

The Fed's statement and projections as well as Powell's accompanying press conference are likely to be in the spotlight on Wednesday amid an otherwise quiet day on the U.S. economic front.