By Sebastian Pellejero
U.S. government-bond yields climbed to a three-week high Tuesday following a renewed congressional effort to send aid to businesses and municipalities hurt by the coronavirus pandemic.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note finished the session at 0.933%, up from 0.845% Monday and its highest close since Nov. 10, according to Tradeweb. The 30-year Treasury bond yield rose to 1.675%, from 1.574%
Yields, which rise when bond prices fall, rose after a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers proposed a $908 billion relief bill that would fund measures through the end of March. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin planned to speak about relief efforts Tuesday afternoon. Higher government spending tends to push up Treasury yields by boosting economic growth and inflation, making fixed payments from bonds less attractive to investors.
Previous stimulus efforts had pegged potential packages at more than $1 trillion. In November, the Treasury Department dialed back its estimates for government borrowing through the end of the year.
Yields have climbed in recent sessions, boosted by hopes for a coronavirus vaccine, though they remain near historic lows. One factor suppressing a rebound is the Federal Reserve, which has committed to aiding the economy by holding borrowing costs low: keeping short-term interest rates near zero and buying up billions of dollars of bonds.
Adding to pressure on yields Tuesday, new manufacturing data from the Institute of Supply Management came in at 57.5 for November, below expectations from economists polled by The Wall Street Journal.
Write to Sebastian Pellejero at sebastian.pellejero@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
12-01-20 1619ET
