On Oct. 19, the U.S. Treasury’s daily 10-year par rate reached 5.15%, a six-basis-point rise that pared the previous week’s decline as housing data showed pressure from higher borrowing costs.
The Treasury’s Oct. 16 reading was 5.09%. Its two-year par rate rose three basis points, from 4.74% on Oct. 16 to 4.77% on Oct. 19. A basis point equals one-hundredth of a percentage point.
The Treasury derives its daily par rates from market quotations collected at or near 3:30 p.m. ET. The rates differ from live yield quotes for individual Treasury notes.
The increase followed a 15-basis-point drop in the 10-year rate between Oct. 9 and Oct. 16, when the Nasdaq-100 lost about 5.5%. AI-related shares recovered on Oct. 19 after the previous week’s selloff, while oil prices fell. Those moves do not establish how much the stock rebound contributed to the change in yields.
Before that decline, long-term yields had climbed for seven months. Bloomberg identified heavier government and corporate borrowing, a resilient economy and persistent inflation as factors behind the extended rise.
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) said confidence among builders of new single-family homes was at its lowest since June 2012. Its October index fell three points to 29. The group cited higher mortgage rates and construction costs. NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz said those pressures and weaker consumer confidence were “keeping more buyers on the sidelines.”
Inflation data offered another measure of the economy ahead of the Fed’s meeting. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said consumer prices rose 0.6% in September after seasonal adjustment and 3.7% over 12 months without adjustment. Producer prices for final demand rose 1.3% for the month after seasonal adjustment and 6.3% over 12 months without adjustment.
The Federal Reserve’s next policy meeting is scheduled for Oct. 27-28.
