10Y Treasury yield jumps above 4% after Fed indicates rate cuts may take time

Treasury yields rose on Tuesday to kick off a shortened trading week after Fed commentary indicated the central bank make lower rates at a slower rate than the market had anticipated.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note gained nearly 12 basis points to 4.066%. It had been hovering around the 4% mark for much of last week. The 2-year Treasury yield rose by around 10 basis points to trade at 4.228%.

Yields and prices move in opposite directions. One basis point equals 0.01%.

Tuesday’s jump in yields comes after comments from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller suggested that while the central bank will likely cut rates this year, it may take its time during the process.

“When the time is right to begin lowering rates, I believe it can and should be lowered methodically and carefully,” he added. “In many previous cycles ... they cut rates reactively and did so quickly and often by large amounts. This cycle, however, ... I see no reason to move as quickly or cut as rapidly as in the past.”

Investors are looking ahead to December retail sales data out Wednesday, which could fuel recessionary fears and concerns about economic growth if U.S. consumer spending cools.

Economists polled by FactSet anticipate an increase of 0.2% for the month, slightly under the 0.3% increase in November.