Treasury yields steady as investors await jobless claims, mortgage data

Treasury yields steadied early on Wednesday as investors awaited fresh data for insights into the U.S. economic picture ahead of next week's Federal Reserve interest rate decision.

Yields on 10-year U.S. Treasurys — the main benchmark for mortgages, auto loans and credit card debt — were unchanged at 5.1211%.

The yield on the 2-year Treasury note, which more closely follows short-term Federal Reserve rate decisions, was holding firm at 4.7889%. The yield on longer-dated 30-year U.S. Treasurys — which often moves on geopolitical developments — also held steady at 5.4320%.

One basis point equals 0.01%, or 1/100th of 1%, and yields and prices move inversely to one another.

With the Federal Reserve's next interest rate meeting scheduled for Oct. 28, traders are weighing up how domestic economic data and global geopolitical developments are shaping the outlook for inflation and interest rates.

Energy prices ticked higher Wednesday, with U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures up 0.86% at $98.66 per barrel, as fresh missile strikes on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and Saudi energy facilities sparked renewed concerns over oil supplies.

The latest weekly average 30-year fixed mortgage rate is due out later from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Previously, the fixed-rate loan average moved 1 basis point higher to 7.5% in the week ended Oct. 9.

That's followed Thursday by the Labor Department's initial jobless claims data for the week ending Oct. 17. The number of people claiming unemployment benefits rose slightly by 1,000 to 199,000 in the week ending Oct. 10.