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U.S. Treasury yields fell slightly on Wednesday as bond-market trading remained calm in the holiday-shortened week.
The bond-market will close early on Thursday and stay shuttered on Friday, based on recommendations from the Securities and Industry Financial Markets Association.
What are Treasurys doing?
The 10-year Treasury note yield TMUBMUSD10Y, 0.926% fell 0.8 basis point to 0.926%, its lowest in a week, while the 2-year note rate TMUBMUSD02Y, 0.125% edged down 0.2 basis point to 0.125%. The 30-year bond yield TMUBMUSD30Y, 1.660% fell 1.3 basis points to 1.660%.
What’s driving Treasurys?
Bond-markets have lacked direction throughout this week as traders looked forward to the end of the year.
Still, some were closely eyeing developments on the U.S. fiscal front amid tussling over a measure to send $2,000 direct payments to individual Americans.
See: McConnell threat to tie bigger stimulus checks to other issues leaves Senate gridlocked
Meanwhile, U.K. regulators approved the Oxford University-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use so that vaccinations can begin early next year. The hope is that the treatment will prove effective against the fast-spreading variant of the coronavirus that was recently discovered in the U.K.
In U.S. economic data, the trade deficit in goods widened to $84.8 billion in November. Pending home sales in November fell by 2.6%.
What did market participants say?
“The curtain is falling on 2020, but traders won’t find any closure this week. Bond and stock valuations will drift in a vacuum with the resolution of key developments at least two weeks away,” said Jim Vogel, an interest-rate strategist at FHN Financial.
Vogel said more clarity on the coronavirus trajectory was unlikely to show up until early next year.
