U.S. Treasuries flat post Treasury Secretary Mnuchin’s speech to unveil tax reform

The U.S. Treasuries traded flat after the country’s Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that he will unveil a tax reform plan very soon and expects it will be approved by the Congress this year whether a healthcare overhaul happens or not.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury jumped nearly 3 basis points to 2.23 percent, the super-long 30-year bond yields also surged 2-1/2 basis points to 2.88 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year note traded over 1 basis point to 1.18 percent by 11:30GMT.

Financial markets were little changed as the ongoing risk-off movement which has been present during the past week on the back of geopolitical tensions started to fade, judging by the performance of sensitive assets: safe-haven assets continued to inch down and risk asset prices increased today.

In FX markets, the USD gained some ground supported by Treasury Secretary Mnuchin’s comments that the US administration will unveil a tax reform plan "very soon" and expects it to be approved by Congress this year.

Lastly, expectations of U.S. reflationary policies continued to cool, as reflected in the USD, which depreciated once again today, as investors worried about a significant delay in promised US tax reforms. A weaker USD led EM currencies to appreciate across the board.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Futures traded 0.12 percent higher at 2,354.75 by 11:50GMT, while at 11:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly Dollar Strength Index remained neutral at -1.83 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex