By Reuters Staff
5 Min Read
(Reuters) - Investors are laser-focused on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday and crucially the bond market’s reaction to the central bank’s policy-setting committee meeting, with benchmark U.S. Treasury yields at 13-month highs.
FILE PHOTO: The Federal Reserve building is pictured in Washington, DC, U.S., August 22, 2018. REUTERS/Chris Wattie
Federal Reserve officials are due to issue new economic projections on Wednesday, with an upgrade to GDP growth. Markets predict the Fed may be forced to act sooner than expected in raising rates.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields have jumped from 0.953% at the beginning of the year to 1.67% on Wednesday, in the midst of the two-day policy meeting that began on Tuesday. The rise in yields in recent weeks came on optimism about the economic recovery and as the United States readied new fiscal stimulus.