Us treasury yields fall for the week after fed signals possible cut ahead

Us treasury yields fall for the week after fed signals possible cut ahead

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U.S. government debt yields posted weekly losses Friday after many investors took the Federal Reserve policy announcement earlier in the week as a sign the central bank could cut rates in


the coming months. Though yields rose on the week's final day of trading, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note posted a 4-basis-point decline for the week as it hovered


around 2.06%. The 10-year yield fell below 2% for the first time since 2016 on Thursday. The 2-year Treasury note yield rose slightly on Friday to about 1.76%. Bond yields, which move


inversely to price, have been under pressure since Fed struck a dovish tone in its June policy statement on Wednesday. At the time, Chair Jerome Powell said that the case for looser policy


had improved. "Overall, our policy discussion focused on the appropriate response to the uncertain environment," he said. "Many participants now see the case for somewhat more


accommodative policy has strengthened," he said. While Fed officials voted to maintained its target overnight lending rate, eight members showed that they'd be in favor of cutting


rates this year, while the same number voted in favor of the status quo. The policymaking committee of the Fed also dropped "patient" from its statement and acknowledged that


inflation is "running below" its 2% objective. Meanwhile, data out on Thursday showed that the number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits dropped above


expectations last week. In oil markets, crude futures dipped following a spike in the previous session. International benchmark Brent crude was trading at around $64.22 Friday morning, down


more than 0.3%, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) stood at $56.80, down almost 0.5%.