U.S. Treasury yields held steady on Wednesday as President Donald Trump’s 50% steel tariffs kicked in and investors monitored trade discussions with China.
At 3:27 a.m. ET, the 10-year Treasury yield was less than a basis point lower at 4.451%, while the 2-year yield was also little changed, trading at 3.951%. The 30-year Treasury yield also dipped less than 1 basis point to 4.974%.
One basis point is equivalent to 0.01% and yields and prices move in opposite directions.
Trump’s tariffs on steel imports to the U.S. doubled from 25% to 50% on Wednesday, with the president claiming that steeper duties will “further secure the steel industry.” The higher tariff rate will hit U.S. steel buyers as prices will climb even further.
Investors are also monitoring trade discussions between the U.S. and China amid a spat about whether each side has violated a trade agreement.
Both sides agreed to a 90-day suspension of most tariffs on each country on May 12, but Trump accused China of not following the terms of the agreement on Friday. Beijing hit back on Monday, saying the U.S. also violated term deals.
Trump said on Wednesday that China’s President Xi Jinping is “extremely hard” to make a deal with after a senior White House official told CNBC earlier this week that Trump and Xi are set to speak this week.
“I like President XI of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!!!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Investors will parse through data on the labor market this week, including the ADP private payrolls report on Wednesday, the weekly jobless claims on Thursday, and nonfarm payrolls on Friday. They will also keep an eye out for the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book — which summarizes current economic conditions — on Wednesday afternoon.
