U.S. Treasury yields dipped on Tuesday morning, ahead of the release of jobs openings data for February later in the day.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.709% at 4:30 a.m. ET. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond slipped to 2.353%. Yields move inversely to prices.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ February survey of job openings and labor turnover in the U.S. is expected out at 10 a.m. ET.
Investors will likely be keeping a close watch on the job openings data, in light of the strong nonfarm payroll report released Friday. The U.S. Labor Department reported that 916,000 jobs were added in March, well above the 675,000 jobs forecast by economists.
Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta Mester told CNBC Monday that she welcomed the jump in payrolls in the March report, but said this wasn’t enough for the central bank to change its policy. Mester said she was largely unconcerned by the recent run-up in Treasury yields, given the improving economic outlook.
The Fed has indicated it will let inflation run above its long-range target of 2%, if it helps achieve full employment, despite market concerns sending bond yields higher.
Speaking to CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” Tuesday, NN Investment Partners head of European equities Maarten Geerdink highlighted that average inflation targeting was “still very much set in the minds” of the Fed, so it wants to “see a bit of an overshoot because we have to compensate (for) periods of lower inflation historically.”
Meanwhile, the IBD/TIPP economic optimism index is due out at 10 a.m. ET.
An auction is due to be held Tuesday for $40 billion of 42-day bills.
— CNBC’s Jeff Cox contributed to this report.
