By: Barbara
With U.S. treasury yields hitting their highest price in nearly 8 months yesterday, the U.S. Dollar slipped versus a group of six major currencies, paring down earlier gains. Auction prices on 10-year U.S. Treasuries fell yesterday, propelling the 10-year yield to 4.0%, the highest since October 2008.
According to one treasury manager in Tokyo, investors are taking into account stock markets and yield movies as a good excuse to reverse their positions. The U.S. Dollar Index, which is used to gauge the performance of the U.S. Dollar versus a basket of major currencies, slipped .3% to trade at 80.032 .DXY. Overall, Asian trading has been somewhat subdued while investors wait for the 30-year U.S. Treasury auction which is to be held later today.
According to one trader, the market doesn’t yet have a firm view on the U.S. Federal Reserve’s position, given the possibility of an interest rate increase combined with the rise in treasury yields. As reported at 12:11 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, versus the U.S. Dollar, the Euro gained .3% to trade at $1.4022; the Euro also moved up against the Japanese Yen, to trade at 137.45 Yen, a .2% gain. The U.S. Dollar also fell against the Japanese Yen, trading at 98.01 Yen, a loss of .1%.