WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Treasuries moved sharply higher during trading on Tuesday, adding to the strong gains posted over the past few sessions.
Bond prices surged early in the session and remained firmly positive throughout the day. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, tumbled 9.5 basis points to 4.298 percent.
With the steep drop on the day, the ten-year yield ended the session at its lowest closing level in well over two months.
Treasuries benefited from their appeal as a safe haven amid concerns about the outlook for the economy after the Conference Board released a report showing a significant deterioration by U.S. consumer confidence in the month of February.
The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index tumbled to 98.3 in February from an upwardly revised 105.3 in January.
Economists had expected the consumer confidence index to dip to 103.0 from the 104.1 originally reported for the previous month.
Stephanie Guichard, Senior Economist, Global Indicators at The Conference Board, noted the consumer confidence index saw its largest monthly decline since August 2021.
'This is the third consecutive month on month decline, bringing the Index to the bottom of the range that has prevailed since 2022,' said Guichard. 'Of the five components of the Index, only consumers' assessment of present business conditions improved, albeit slightly.'
She added, 'Average 12-month inflation expectations surged from 5.2% to 6% in February. This increase likely reflected a mix of factors, including sticky inflation but also the recent jump in prices of key household staples like eggs and the expected impact of tariffs.'
The continued strength among treasuries also came amid weakness on Wall Street, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 moving lower for the fourth straight session.
A report on new home sales may attract attention on Wednesday, although activity may be somewhat subdued ahead of the release of more closely watched data later in the week.
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