Categories: U.S. Investing

U.S. 10-year Yield Hits More than Two-Year High

DonkeyHotey

U.S. 10-year Yield Hits More than Two-Year High (Reuters)

U.S. benchmark Treasuries yields rose above 3 percent to their highest level in more than two years today as traders cut their bond holdings in preparation for the Federal Reserve to trim bond purchases in 2014. The latest sell-off helped to assure the Treasuries market will finish one of its worst years ever as the 10-year yield has risen 1.25 percentage points in 2013. Last week, the U.S. central bank said it will reduce its monthly purchases of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities by $10 billion to $75 billion in January due to signs of an improving U.S. economy. The Fed also signaled its commitment to hold short-term interest rates near zero, since unemployment has remained higher what policy-makers are targeting and inflation has stayed below the desired 2 percent mark. Investors in U.S. Treasuries should take notice, since the trend seems likely to continue.

Paul Dykewicz

Paul Dykewicz is the editor of StockInvestor.com and the editorial director of Eagle Financial Publications in Washington, D.C. He writes and edits for the website, as well as edits investment newsletters, time-sensitive trading alerts and other reports published by Eagle. He also is an accomplished, award-winning journalist who has written for Dow Jones, USA Today and other publications, as well as served as business editor of a daily newspaper in Baltimore. In addition, Paul is the author of the inspirational book, "Holy Smokes! Golden Guidance from Notre Dame's Championship Chaplain." He received his MBA in finance from Johns Hopkins University, where he was a two-time president of the school's Finance Club. In addition, Paul has a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and a master's degree in journalism from Michigan State University. Outside of work, Paul volunteers with a faith-based organization to assist the poor in Southeast Washington, D.C., to learn personal finance skills to lift themselves out of debt.