Treasuries Move Modestly Higher Following Inflation Data

(RTTNews) - Treasuries showed a modest move to the upside during trading on Tuesday, extending the back-and-forth trend seen over the past several sessions.

Bond prices fluctuated over the course of the session before ending the day in positive territory. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, dipped 1.6 basis points to 4.171 percent.

The uptick by treasuries came following the release of the Labor Department's closely watched report on consumer price inflation in the month of December.

While the report showed consumer prices increased in line with economist estimates, core consumer prices rose by slightly less than expected.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index climbed by 0.3 percent in December, matching economist expectations.

Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices rose by 0.2 percent in December. Economists had expected core prices to rise by 0.3 percent.

The report also said the annual rate of growth by consumer price came in at 2.7 percent in December, unchanged from 2.7 percent in November and in line with estimates.

The annual rate of growth by core consumer prices was also unchanged from the previous month at 2.6 percent, while economists had expected an uptick to 2.7 percent.

The report has added to recent optimism about the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Federal Reserve's next monetary policy meeting later this month.

While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged at its January meeting, the central bank is still seen as likely to cut rates by at least another quarter point in the coming months.