Long-term US Treasury yields gained on Wednesday after strong private employment data and the announced refunding of the US government’s maturing debt, with those on the benchmark 10-year note reaching its highest since November.
US 10-year Treasury yields were last up 2.9 basis points (bps) at 4.075 percent from Tuesday’s levels. They at one point in the morning reached 4.122 percent , their highest since last November.
The rise in yields also came after ratings agency Fitch overnight downgraded the US government’s credit rating to AA+ from AAA, citing an expected fiscal deterioration over the next three years and a snowballing general debt burden.
Yields on US 30-year bonds were up 6.5 basis points to 4.168 percent , after at one point hitting 4.206 percent , their highest since Nov. 9.
Long-term yields tempered slightly in the afternoon from their morning highs, in part due to new expected supply stemming from the Treasury Department’s announced refunding of Treasuries coming due this month.
“I think the longer-dated maturities are seeing the most pronounced movements from that,” said Guy Lebas, chief fixed income strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia
