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Treasury Yields Pull Back as Traders Weigh Impact of China Protest on Supply Chain

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on November 02, 2022 in New York City.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images

Treasury yields dipped Monday as traders weighed growing unrest in China over the country's Covid policies and awaited economic data.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was trading about 2 basis points lower at 3.67%. The yield on the 2-year Treasury was trading at around 4.44%, after falling by 3 basis points.

Yields and prices move in opposite directions. One basis point equals 0.01%.

Investors responded to demonstrations in mainland China over the weekend as people expressed their frustrations with Beijing's zero-Covid policy. Local governments tightened Covid controls as cases surged, even though earlier this month Beijing adjusted some policies that suggested the world's second biggest economy was on its way to reopening.

The major indexes fell on Monday amid the protests. Global markets also responded.

Investors also awaited a slew of economic data releases due later this week that will provide insights into how the U.S. economy is faring amid high interest rates and inflation.

A series of key labor market data is due this week, including ADP's private business payroll figures and JOLTS job openings on Wednesday, as well as November nonfarm payrolls and unemployment data on Friday.

As a tight labor market is historically associated with high inflation, the data could provide hints about the impact of the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes and its monetary policy plans.

Minutes from the Fed's November meeting released last week indicated that the central bank would continue to hike interest rate in the coming months, but at a slower pace. Concerns about the speed of rate hikes dragging the U.S. economy into a recession have spread among investors.

They will therefore also be looking to additional economic data releases scheduled for this week, such as personal spending and income figures, for hints about the impact of high inflation and interest rates on consumers.

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