NEW YORK: US Treasury yields rose from five-month lows on Monday on reports that Randal Quarles, a former Treasury Department official, is expected to be nominated as the Federal Reserve's vice chairman for bank supervision, which was seen as positive for bank growth.
Quarles, a former top Treasury Department official during the Bush administration, was viewed as likely to help boost banks that have complained about new regulations implemented since the financial crisis.
The Wall Street Journal late on Sunday and Bloomberg News on Monday were among publications reporting Quarles' expected nomination.
"The feeling is that he might start pushing through some regulations that might help the banking sector, and take the pressure off yields moving lower," said Tom di Galoma, a managing director at Seaport Global Holdings in New York.
US Treasury yields fell to five-month lows overnight as rising geopolitical tensions in North Korea hurt risk appetite and weak economic data boosted demand for the bonds.
Benchmark 10-year notes were last down 1/32 in price to yield 2.232 percent, after dropping to 2.198 percent overnight, the lowest since Nov. 17.
The United States, its allies and China are working together on a range of responses to North Korea's latest failed ballistic missile test, US President Donald Trump's national security adviser said on Sunday, citing what he called an international consensus to act.
H.R. McMaster indicated that Trump was not considering military action for now.
Weak US retail sales and consumer price data on Friday, when the bond market was closed, also put a dent in expectations that growth will be sufficient for the Fed to raise interest rates two more times this year.
"The CPI number came out very weak on Friday, and weak PPI on Thursday, so the inflation outlook doesn't look all that great for the Fed," said di Galoma.
The data showed that US retail sales fell for a second straight month in March and consumer prices dropped for the first time in just over a year, underscoring a loss of economic growth momentum in the first quarter.
Data on Thursday showed producer prices falling in March for the first time in seven months.
Traders have been reducing expectations of tax reform in the near-term as the Trump administration focuses on foreign affairs. Tax reform and fiscal stimulus had been expected to help bolster US growth.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.