The Federal Reserve’s policy meeting could feature discussion on when and how to scale back bond purchases.
Photo:
olivier douliery/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
U.S. government bond yields edged lower Wednesday, with investors awaiting details from the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note recently traded at 1.490%, according to Tradeweb, down from 1.498% at Thursday’s close. The 30-year bond yield traded at 2.182%, down from 2.199%.
Yields, which rise when bond prices fall, slipped before the 2 p.m. release of details from the central bank’s meeting. Analysts and investors generally expect the Fed to hold short-term interest rates near zero and keep buying at least $120 billion a month of Treasury and mortgage bonds, policies implemented over a year ago to help ease trading conditions and fuel the U.S. economic recovery after last year’s market turmoil.
Chairman
Jerome Powell
has reiterated his belief that the U.S. economy hasn’t recovered sufficiently for the central bank to tighten monetary policy. Investors are watching the meeting for new forecasts, which could show officials expect to raise interest rates sooner than anticipated in March. Some analysts believe that officials may begin discussing when and how to scale back the pace of bond purchases.
Write to Sebastian Pellejero at sebastian.pellejero@wsj.com
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