NEW YORK: US Treasuries prices edged lower on Tuesday, giving back some of Monday's gains on uncertainty ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's testimony before the Senate and reduced appetite for safe-haven assets on greater relief over Greece.
Yellen will give the central bank's semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Senate Banking Committee at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT) and will testify before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday.
Yellen is expected to face pointed questions about the Fed's timing on interest rate hikes and fresh scrutiny about transparency at the central bank. One question that lawmakers are expected to ask is when the word "patient" will be dropped from the Fed's policy statements to describe its timeline for moving short-term rates higher.
"There are so many views out there about what Yellen could and could not say," David Keeble, global head of interest rates strategy at Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank in New York. "No one wants to put big chips on the table just now."
Uncertainty over Yellen's comments led traders to revert to selling some Treasuries after Monday's price rally, which led the 30-year yield to post its biggest one-day drop since Jan. 28. Yields move inversely to prices.
Relief over Greece also pressured Treasuries prices. Greece was on course to win a four-month extension of its eurozone financial rescue on Tuesday after backing down further to its partners on key leftist reforms and promising that measures to alleviate social distress will not derail its budget.
"The near-term disaster has been averted with Greece," said Lou Brien, market strategist at DRW Trading in Chicago.
Markets were also awaiting U.S. February consumer confidence data at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT) and the Treasury's auction of $26 billion in two-year notes at 1:00 p.m. (1800 GMT).
U.S. 30-year bonds were last down 17/32 in price to yield 2.68 percent, from a yield of 2.65 percent late on Monday. Benchmark 10-year notes were last down 6/32 to yield 2.08 percent, from 2.06 percent late Monday.
U.S. three-year notes were last down 1/32 to yield 1.04 percent, from 1.02 percent late Monday.
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