NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Home prices. Consumer sentiment. A purchasing manager’s index. Investors had to deal with all three reports on Tuesday — and a lot more are coming.
The bond market will be digesting a ton of data in the first half of June, and investors are hoping the reports improve over Tuesday’s downbeat trio.
“We are entering two-and-a-half weeks of an avalanche of economic data,” said Jim Vogel, head of agency debt research at FTN Financial. “So far, it hasn’t been great.”
Bond yields had been higher Tuesday after a Wall Street Journal article said Germany is considering lending more money to Greece.
But the triple whammy of disappointing stateside data sent yields ticking lower, and they remained flat in morning trade Tuesday. The 10-year yield held at 3.06%.
Until April, the yield on the 10-year note had remained in a tight range around the 3.4% mark. But over the past several weeks, Treasury prices have steadily risen, pushing yields to five-month lows.
The 3% mark on the 10-year yield is psychologically important for traders, so a break below that point could send rates spiraling lower.
But Vogel said that’s unlikely to happen unless major changes occur in other markets — for example, if the euro falls below $1.40. He said that’s because so many short-term positions hinge on a combination of factors, like commodity prices.
This week, traders will be looking to the government’s closely-watched monthly jobs report, due Friday, for any signs of improvement.
What yields are doing: On Tuesday, the 30-year yield fell to 4.22%, down from 4.24% in the previous session. The bond market closed early on Friday and stayed dark Monday in observance of Memorial Day.
The 5-year yield held at 1.71% and the yield on the 2-year note moved higher to 0.27%. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.
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