Treasury yields steady ahead of jobless claims and mortgage data

Treasury yields steadied on Wednesday as investors awaited fresh data for insights into the U.S. economic picture ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve interest rate decision.

The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury — the main benchmark for mortgages, auto loans and credit card debt — was down more than 1 basis point at 5.098%.

The yield on the 2-year Treasury note, which more closely follows short-term Federal Reserve rate decisions, shed less than 1 basis point to 4.778%. The yield on longer-dated 30-year U.S. Treasurys — which often moves on geopolitical developments — moved more than 1 basis point lower to 5.409%.

One basis point equals 0.01%, or 1/100th of 1%, and yields and prices move inversely to one another.

With the Federal Reserve’s next interest rate meeting scheduled for Oct. 28, traders are weighing up how domestic economic data and global geopolitical developments are shaping the outlook for inflation and interest rates.

The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage declined to 7.41% last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The fixed-rate loan average was previously at 7.5%.

That’s followed Thursday by the Labor Department’s initial jobless claims data for the week ending Oct. 17. The number of people claiming unemployment benefits rose slightly by 1,000 to 199,000 in the week ending Oct. 10.

Energy prices ticked higher Wednesday, with U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures up 0.4% at $98.25 per barrel and Brent crude futures higher by 0.2% at $109. That’s as fresh missile strikes on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and Saudi energy facilities sparked renewed concerns over oil supplies.