U.S. Treasuries gain ahead of FOMC policy meeting, Q4 GDP

The U.S. Treasuries gained during Wednesday’s afternoon session ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting, due to be concluded today by 19:00GMT, followed by a press conference at 19:30GMT.

Besides, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) for the fourth quarter of this year, due to be delivered on January 30 by 13:30GMT, shall pave the way for future direction in the debt market.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield lost 1 basis point to 1.630 percent, the super-long 30-year bond yield also edged tad 1 basis point down to 2.084 percent and the yield on the short-term 2-year remained 1-1/2 basis points down at 1.443 percent by 11:45GMT.

In the US, December durable goods orders, due for release today are expected to be up 0.8 percent, following a 2.1 percent fall in November. Much of the rebound is due to stronger aerospace orders. These, however, can be very volatile. A better gauge of the underlying picture is provided by the ex-transport reading, which is forecast to rise by 0.5 percent after a 0.1 percent fall, Lloyds Bank reported.

The US-China trade deal suggests that 2020 may be a better year for the industrial sector. One area of concern, however, is aerospace, where Boeing’s problems may lead to production cutbacks, the report added.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Futures remained nearly flat at 3,243.12 by 11:50GMT.