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The U.S. Treasuries slumped Monday ahead of the short-term 2-year auction and a host of FOMC members’ speeches, scheduled to be held later today – members Dudley, Mester and Quarles are due to deliver their keynote speeches at 16:30GMT, 20:30GMT and 23:10GMT respectively.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasuries jumped 2 basis points to 2.84 percent, the super-long 30-year bond yields also surged 2 basis points to 3.09 percent and the yield on the short-term 2-year traded 2-1/2 basis points higher at 2.28 percent by 11:40GMT.
In the US, it’s also set to be a quiet start to the week for economic data, with no top-tier releases today. Tomorrow brings the Conference Board consumer survey for March and S&P/CoreLogic home price report for January. Wednesday sees the release of advance goods trade and inventory reports for February.
A final reading on Q4 GDP (currently estimated at 2.7 percent q/q annualized) will also be released that day, together with pending home sales data for February. On Thursday, the personal income and spending report for February will be the focus. Spending is likely to be up modestly at best given the soft retail sales report released earlier this month, Daiwa Capital Markets reported.
However, most interest will centre on the core PCE deflator for February, with the consensus expectation of a softer monthly increase of 0.2 percent m/m down from 0.3 percent m/m in January. That, however, would nudge the annual rate up 0.1ppt to 1.6 percent y/y, the highest in ten months. The Chicago PMI and final University of Michigan consumer survey results for March will also be released before investors head away for the Easter break.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Futures jumped 1.16 percent to 2,628.25 by 11:40GMT, while at 11:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly Dollar Strength Index remained neutral at -69.87 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex
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