Treasuries saw considerable strength during trading on Monday, as lingering concerns about developments overseas drove investors to the relative safety of U.S. government-backed bonds.
After moving sharply higher in early trading, bond prices gave back some ground as the day progressed but still closed firmly positive. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell by 5.3 basis points to 1.788 percent.
The drop extended a recent downward move by the ten-year yield, which ended the session at a seven-month closing low.
The strength among treasuries came amid lingering concerns about the political uncertainty in Greece, as the debt-plagued nation could be forced to hold a new round of elections due to lawmakers' inability to form a coalition government.
Peter Boockvar, managing director at Miller Tabak, noted that another Greek election would basically be an up or down vote on the country's Euro membership.
"The growing possibility of Greece saying bye bye has put the entire region into the realm of the unknown in terms of the economic ripple effects," Boockvar said.
Traders also kept a close eye on developments in China, where the central bank announced over the weekend that it would lower the reserve requirement for banks by 50 basis points in a bid to inject more liquidity into the system.
The move added to recent concerns about the outlook for growth in China, which represents the world's second largest economy behind the U.S.
While the latest round of talks among Greek politicians is likely to attract some attention on Tuesday, traders are also likely to keep an eye on the release of a slew of U.S. economic data, including key reports on retail sales, consumer prices, and homebuilder confidence.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com