U.S. Treasury yields rose on Wednesday as investors monitored the latest developments in the U.S.-China trade war.
The 10-year Treasury yield was up 1 basis point to 4.034% and the 2-year Treasury yield rose nearly 3 basis points to 3.504%. The longer maturity 30-year Treasury bond yield was little changed at 4.626%.
One basis point is equal to 0.01% and yields and prices move in opposite directions.
Investors are keeping an eye out for the latest moves in the rift between China and the U.S.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened China with a cooking oil embargo in retaliation for Beijing not buying U.S. soybeans.
Meanwhile, China put new sanctions on five U.S. subsidiaries of South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean. This came after Trump’s threats on Friday to place an additional 100% tariff on any goods coming from China after Beijing imposed strict export controls on rare earth minerals.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also noted that while the administration follows markets closely, it would not be deterred from taking action against China should volatility arise.
“We won’t negotiate because the stock market is going down,” Bessent said in an exclusive interview at CNBC’s Invest in America Forum. “We will negotiate because we are doing what is best economically for the U.S.”
Additionally, the government shutdown has stretched on to 15 days, continuing an economic data blackout, meaning the core CPI print for September won’t be released this week.
“If it weren’t for the shutdown, we’d have been writing about today’s CPI print for September, but that’s been delayed as well, so we’re flying blind on a growing amount of economic data right now,” Deutsche Bank analysts said in a note.
“That said, this CPI print is one of the few things that will come out even if the shutdown continues, as it’s used in the social security calculations, so it’s currently scheduled for October 24,” the analysts added.
