Markets & Stocks > Bonds & Rates
    SAVE   |   EMAIL   |   PRINT   |   RSS  
Bonds slide, dollar mixed
Treasury prices ease as investors look ahead to more rate hikes; dollar splits against euro and yen.
November 2, 2005: 4:53 PM EST

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Bond prices fell Wednesday as investors continued to digest the Federal Reserve's decision Tuesday to raise interest rates and the likelihood of future rate hikes.

The dollar was mixed against the euro and yen.

The benchmark 10-year note fell 9/32 to 97-7/32 to yield 4.60 percent, up from 4.57 late Tuesday. The 30-year bond lost 19/32 to 108-11/32 to yield 4.79 percent, up from 4.76 in the previous session. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

In shorter-dated debt, the two-year note fell one tick, yielding 4.42 percent. The five-year note slipped 5/32, yielding 4.49 percent.

During the Federal Open Market Committee, the central bank met expectations by upping the federal funds rate a quarter of a percentage point to 4 percent. The rate hike marked the 12th straight increase by the FOMC.

The Fed, however, did not drop the key term "measured" from its accompanying statement and again emphasized that inflation was not a cause for concern, indicating that it would keep raising rates at a quarter percentage point pace at least through the next two FOMC meetings.

"What's remarkable is how little the statement changed," David Kelly, economic adviser at Putnam Investments in Boston, told CNN/Money on Tuesday. "The one thing that is important is that the Fed has always, over the past few years, tipped its hand. But they have still not indicated that they are close to ending their tightening."

In a day lacking any significant economic data, investors are also looking ahead to Friday's October employment report as well as factory orders and third-quarter productivity data, which is slated for release Thursday.

In its statement, the Fed did not believe inflation to be a cause for concern, despite high oil and gas prices. Bond investors fear inflation since it erodes the value of the fixed-income investment.

The dollar, which hit a 25-month high against the yen Monday, gained against the yen, buying ¥116.86, up from ¥116.73 late Tuesday. The greenback fell against the euro, which bought $1.2068, up from $1.2023 in the previous session.

______________

For updated bond charts, click here.

To check currency prices, click here.  Top of page

YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS
Follow the news that matters to you. Create your own alert to be notified on topics you're interested in.

Or, visit Popular Alerts for suggestions.
Manage alerts | What is this?