A measure of total returns since the beginning of the year for U.S. Treasuries is in positive territory for the first time in months, after government bond yields declined sharply in response to data on Thursday showing inflation is cooling.
Year-to-date total returns – which include bond payouts and price fluctuations – turned to 0.324 per cent on Thursday, according to the ICE BofA US Treasury Index. Returns had been negative since early February.
Treasury yields – which move inversely to prices – are still higher this year, with benchmark 10-year yields still about 35 basis points above where they stood at the end of last year.
Bond losses followed high inflation readings in the first quarter that indicated price pressures were unlikely to abate as quickly as the market, and the Federal Reserve, had projected.
Traders of futures contracts tied to the Fed’s benchmark policy rate have lowered expectations on interest rate…
