NEW YORK: US Treasuries prices rose modestly on Monday on hesitation ahead of speeches from top Federal Reserve speakers throughout the week and releases of economic data culminating in the November jobs report.
A heavy schedule of speeches from top Federal Reserve officials made some investors cautious as they awaited any details about the scheduled Dec. 16-17 Fed meeting. Speakers will include Chair Janet Yellen, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans and Federal Reserve Board Governor Lael Brainard.
"While the Fed speakers won't explicitly say that they'll raise rates in December, we'll be looking for commentary that continues to suggest liftoff is in December," said Tom Simons, money market strategist at Jefferies & Co in New York.
Purchases of longer-dated Treasuries to meet expected month-end and year-end changes to portfolio benchmarks further pushed longer-dated bond prices higher, continuing to flatten the yield curve, analysts said.
The Chicago Purchasing Management Index fell in November, indicating a contraction in the factory sector. The data came in below expectations and momentarily supported Treasuries, with longer-dated maturities performing better than shorter-dated ones.
Other U.S. data expected during the week includes manufacturing and auto sales data for November.
Economists expect Friday's employment report to show that employers added 200,000 jobs in November, according to a Reuters poll. Evidence of further improvement in the U.S. labor market would reinforce expectations that the Fed will raise interest rates in December.
In addition to economic data and Fed speakers, investors will be watching the European Central Bank's meeting on Thursday to see when the bank will begin cutting interest rates.
"It's the busiest week Treasuries have had in a while in terms of events with Fed speakers, data and the ECB meeting, so there's a lot of watching and waiting right now," said Gennadiy Goldberg, interest rates strategist at TD Securities in New York.
Benchmark 10-year Treasuries rose 1/32 in price to yield 2.221 percent, down from 2.222 on late Friday.
The 30-year bond gained 10/32 in price to yield 2.98 percent.
Other Fed officials speaking are Fed Board Governor Daniel Tarullo, Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart, Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker, San Francisco Fed President John Williams, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, Fed Vice Chair Stanley Fischer, New York Fed President William Dudley and Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota.
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