U.S. 10-year bond yields at 1-month high as investors remain cautious ahead of Q1 GDP

The U.S. Treasuries slumped Thursday as investors await the country’s first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP), initial jobless claims and Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) member Bullard’s speech, due later in the day.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury, jumped 3 basis points to 2.25 percent, the super-long 30-year bond yields surged nearly 3-1/2 basis points to 2.81 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year note traded nearly 1 basis point higher at 1.36 percent by 11:10GMT.

With the majority of market participants sharing the view that the Federal Reserve is no longer the only G10 Central Bank on a tightening mode, USD came under further selling pressure with the DXY index marking a fresh year-to-date low. EUR/USD extended recent gains hitting a session peak of 1.1435, the highest in more than a year

In addition, the downward revision of the GDP growth forecast by the IMF, (see) coupled with a new episode of technological sector volatility dragged down main US assets. Nonetheless, investors will be closely watching Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s speech, which may offer new hints on the timing of the Fed’s interest rate hikes and balance sheet reduction.

Lastly, political concerns continue to hover about the Trump administration’s legislative capacity, as the healthcare vote was surprisingly delayed, which may add to concerns about the ability to push through the long-awaited tax reforms.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Futures traded 0.11 percent higher at 2,442.38 by 11:20GMT, while at 11:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly Dollar Strength Index remained neutral at -50.50 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex