After ending the previous session modestly lower, treasuries moved back to the upside over the course of the trading day on Tuesday.
Bond prices moved higher in early trading before moving roughly sideways thereafter. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, dropped by 2.9 basis points to 1.934 percent.
The rebound by treasuries came as stocks on Wall Street gave back ground following the rally that was seen in the previous session.
Traders were also digesting a mixed batch of economic data, including a report from MNI Indicators showing that Chicago business activity unexpectedly continued to contract in March.
MNI Indicators said its Chicago business barometer edged up to 46.3 in March from 45.8 in February, although a reading below 50 continues to indicate a contraction.
Economists had expected the business barometer to show a more significant rebound to a reading of 51.5, which would have indicated modest growth.
Meanwhile, the Conference Board released a separate report showing an unexpected rebound in consumer confidence in the month of March.
The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index jumped to 101.3 in March from an upwardly revised 98.8 in February.
The increase came as a surprise to economists, who had expected the index to edge down to 95.5 from the 96.4 originally reported for the previous month.
Another batch of economic data is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, with reports on private sector employment and national manufacturing activity likely to be in focus.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com