Treasuries Fail to Hold Gains Spurred by Fed’s Rescue Attempt
- Central bank expands purchases into coupons through mid-April
- Yields retreat from session highs but fail to sustain move
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U.S. Treasury yields beat a retreat from session highs Thursday after the Federal Reserve brandished its most aggressive market support measures since it was digging the economy out of the last recession. It didn’t last.
Yields across the curve climbed to their highest levels of the U.S. session in late trading. At the time of the surprise announcement at about 12:45 p.m. in New York, the two-year note’s yield fell more than 10 basis points to 0.38%. By 3 p.m., it had backed up to 0.50%, suggesting there’s doubt the measures will work. The dollar, which had climbed nearly 2% against a basket of major currencies, halved its gain. The S&P 500 Index remains down more than 8% on the day.