After failing to sustain an early upward, treasuries pulled well off their highs and ended Tuesday's trading modestly lower.
Bond prices pulled back well off their best levels, although selling pressure waned in afternoon trading. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, ended the day up by less than a basis point at 1.675 percent after hitting a low of 1.638 percent.
With the modest increase, the ten-year yield added to the slim gain posted in the previous session, climbing further off last Friday's four-month closing low.
The early strength among treasuries came following the release of a report from the Institute for Supply Management - Chicago showing an unexpected contraction in Chicago-area business activity in the month of April.
The ISM Chicago said its business barometer fell to 49.0 in April from 52.4 in March, with a reading below 50 indicating a contraction in regional business activity. Economists had expected the index to come in unchanged.
With the unexpected decrease in April, the Chicago Business Barometer fell to its lowest level since September of 2009.
However, treasuries showed a notable downturn after the release of a separate report from the Conference Board showing a substantial rebound in consumer confidence in April.
The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index jumped to 68.1 in April from an upwardly revised 61.9 in March. Economists had expected the index to climb to 62.0 from the 59.7 originally reported for the previous month.
With the rebound, the consumer confidence index came in a tenth of a point higher than the reading for February, reaching its highest level since last November.
Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at the Conference Board, said, "Consumer Confidence improved in April, as consumers' expectations about the short-term economic outlook and their income prospects improved."
While the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement is likely to be in focus on Wednesday, reports on private sector employment, manufacturing activity, and construction spending are likely to attract attention ahead of the release of the statement from the Fed.
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Market Analysis
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.