U.S. Treasuries continue steady movement amid muted trade ahead of FOMC Chair Powell’s speech

The U.S. Treasuries continued to remain flat during Tuesday’s afternoon session, after an overnight speech by the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) Chairman Jerome Powell focussed principally on his assessment of the risks posed by rising business debt.

Today brings the speeches by FOMC members Harker, Clarida and Williams, besides, Powell’s again as well.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield hovered around 2.418 percent, the super-long 30-year bond yields traded flat at 2.835 percent and the yield on the short-term 2-year also remained steady at 2.229 percent by 11:25GMT.

Last night’s speech by Fed Chair Powell at the Atlanta Fed’s annual financial markets conference on Amelia Island focused principally on his assessment of the risks posed by rising business debt, acknowledging that "business debt is near record levels, and recent issuance has been concentrated in the riskiest segments" and "if a downturn were to arrive unexpectedly, some firms would face challenges,", Daiwa Capital Markets reported.

But he concluded that "business debt does not present the kind of elevated risks to the stability of the financial system that would lead to broad harm to households and businesses should conditions deteriorate", and noted that "the financial system appears strong enough to handle potential losses".

More generally, he was broadly upbeat, stating "Despite crosscurrents, the economy is showing continued growth, strong job creation, and rising wages, all in a context of muted inflation pressures," the report added.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Futures traded nearly 1 percent lower at 2,858.25 by 11:30GMT, while at 11:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly Dollar Strength Index remained neutral at 65.33 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex