U.S. Treasury yields were slightly lower on Monday as the final trading days of the year got underway.
At 6:17 a.m. ET, the yield on the 10-year Treasury was down by more than 2 basis points at 4.599%, trading just below multimonth highs recorded last week. The 2-year Treasury yield was last trading at 4.304% after dipping by more than 2 basis points.
Yields and prices move in opposite directions and one basis point equals 0.01%.
Investors focused on the end of the year and quarter, and considered the outlook for the U.S. economy and the path ahead for monetary policy from the Federal Reserve in 2025.
The Fed indicated that fewer interest rate cuts were on the horizon when it met earlier this month. Policymakers will make their first rate decision of 2025 in late January.
Few data points remain on the calendar in 2024, but investors will be watching out for November’s pending home sales data, the Chicago purchasing managers’ index and the Dallas Fed’s manufacturing index on Monday for some near-final clues about the state of the economy.
Data released last week showed that weekly initial jobless claims for the week ending Dec. 21 fell slightly and came in below expectations, while continuing claims for the week ending Dec. 14 jumped to the highest level since November 2021.
Markets will close early Tuesday and remain closed Wednesday as New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are observed.