U.S. Treasuries slide on expectations of fall in initial jobless claims; March FOMC meeting minutes eyed

The U.S. Treasuries slid Wednesday, on expectations of a fall in the country’s initial jobless claims, scheduled to be released later in the day. Also, investors wait to watch the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes, due today, besides, the employment report later this week.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury remained jumped 1-1/2 basis points to 2.36 percent, the super-long 30-year bond yields rose 1 basis point to 2.96 percent and the yield on short-term 3year note also traded nearly 1 basis point higher at 1.25 percent.

The minutes from the Federal Reserve’s mid-March meeting will be closely eyed, mainly for one reason: Fed watchers are eager to see what members of the open market committee said about shrinking their USD4.5 trillion balance sheet.

This week, several participants have said that they expect the Fed to start reducing its balance sheet sometime this year. The minutes may provide important information on how close we are to changes in balance sheet policy.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Futures traded flat at 2,357.00 by 12:10GMT, while at 12:00GMT, and the FxWirePro's Hourly Dollar Strength Index remained neutral at -30.46 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex