Treasury yields creep higher as investors await Fed chair Powell's speech

U.S. Treasury yields creeped higher on Tuesday as investors awaited Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's speech.

At 4:28 a.m. ET, the 10-year Treasury yield was over one basis point higher at 4.389%. The 2-year yield was little changed at 3.865%. The 30-year yield was more than 2 basis points higher at 4.959%.

One basis point is equal to 0.01%, and yields and prices move in opposite directions.

Investors will be monitoring Powell's speech at an event in Washington on Tuesday morning for more clues about monetary policy.

President Donald Trump has been calling for the central bank leader's removal for months now, and the conflict remains in focus for investors.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested Monday that the Federal Reserve as an institution needs to be reviewed.

“What we need to do is examine the entire Federal Reserve institution and whether they have been successful,” Bessent said in an interview on CNBC's “Squawk Box.” “Has the organization succeeded in its mission? If this were the [Federal Aviation Administration] and we were having this many mistakes, we would go back and look at why has this happened.”

Bessent also questioned the Fed's decision not to lower interest rates this year, given that the U.S. has “seen very little, if any, inflation.”

″I think this idea of them not being able to break out of a certain mindset,“ Bessent said, referring to Fed officials. ”All these Ph.D.s over there, I don't know what they do.

It's quiet on the economic data front this week, but investors will keep an eye out for existing home sales data for June on Wednesday, as well as weekly initial jobless claims and new home sales in June on Thursday. They will also await data on durable goods orders for the previous month, on Friday.