Treasury yields edged slightly higher on Thursday, as investors continued to monitor the Trump administration’s relations with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and the European Union.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury was 1 basis point higher at 3 a.m. ET, at 4.4%. Yields on Treasurys across the curve all gained around 1 basis point.
President Donald Trump has scheduled a visit to the Fed on Thursday — the first time in almost 20 years a U.S. president has paid an official visit to the central bank — as he continues to pile pressure on Powell.
Trump has been vocal in his criticisms of the Fed chief, arguing that “he’s done a bad job” and should have been cutting interest rates instead of holding them steady. The president has publicly put forward the idea of firing Powell, which has raised concerns among investors about the central bank’s independence.
Trump’s visit comes the day after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said there was “nothing that tells me that [Powell] should step down right now,” reassuring markets over the Fed chief’s position.
Elsewhere, attention is turned to trade negotiations between the U.S. and the EU.
Optimism that a trade deal between the two was looming rose when Washington signed a “massive Deal” with Japan, and Trump subsequently told dinner guests “we have Europe coming in tomorrow, and the next day.”
— CNBC’s Anniek Bao, Jeff Cox and Christina Wilkie contributed to this report.
