By Ben Eisen, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Treasury prices slipped Tuesday, but
still notched their third straight quarter of gains, underscoring
the surprising fall in interest rates so far this year.
The 10-year Treasury note (10_YEAR) yield, which falls as prices
rise, fell a basis point this quarter, and nearly 52 basis points
so far this year, its largest three-quarter fall since the
beginning of 2012.
The yield rose 1.5 basis points on the day to 2.504%, according
to Tradeweb.
The quarter's gains weren't helped by a weak September, which
saw the benchmark yield rise nearly 16 basis points. Read more: The
bond market's terrible September in one chart
Treasury prices meandered throughout Tuesday's session,
ultimately losing steam despite a series of weaker data:
Market participants also speculated that Pimco was selling some
holdings to meet redemptions, as investors pulled money out of the
world's largest bond-fund manager. The onslaught of redemptions
come in the wake of the high profile departure of chief investment
officer Bill Gross. Pimco $3.1 billion Total Return exchange-traded
fund (BOND) had a record $446.5 billion in outflows on Friday,
though outflows slowed to $98 million on Monday. Also read: This
year at Pimco, measured by fund flows.
The Pimco news pushed U.S. Treasurys weaker on Friday, though
the market recovered Monday.
The rest of the week will feature a series of high-profile
economic data.
"The market's attention will now shift to Friday's employment
release," said Ian Lyngen, senior rates strategist at CRT Capital
Group, in a note. Economists polled by MarketWatch expect that the
U.S. added 220,000 jobs in September.
The 30-year bond (30_YEAR) yield rose 3 basis point to 3.212%
and the 5-year note (5_YEAR) yield fell slightly basis point to
1.771%.
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