Treasury Yields React To Housing Starts

U.S. Treasury yields briefly inched higher on Wednesday morning, following the October housing starts and building permits report.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note ticked up less than a basis point to 1.639% at 9:50. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond edged 1.6 basis points higher to 2.036%.

Yields move inversely to prices and 1 basis point is equal to 0.01%. On Wednesday the Commerce Department reported homebuilding in October fell 0.7% to an annual rate of 1.52 million units, short of expectations.
Permits in October rose 4% to an annual rate of 1.65 million, topping estimates.

The Commerce Department reported on Tuesday that retail spending in October accelerated at its fastest pace since the 1990s, rising by 1.7%, up from 0.8% in September.

Meanwhile, the November National Association of Home Builders Housing Market index rose more than expected, to its highest point since last May.

This strong batch of economic data coincides with concerns about rising inflation and how quickly the Federal Reserve will subsequently pull back its emergency stimulus measures.