Treasury yields up as oil prices jump and investors await inflation data

Treasury yields moved higher on Tuesday as tensions in the Middle East continue to weigh on energy prices and investors look ahead to inflation data later in the week. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note — the main benchmark for mortgages, auto loans and credit card debt — increased 3 basis points to 4.7334% in early trade. Shorter- and longer-term yields also moved higher. The yield on the 2-year Treasury note, which typically tracks short-term Federal Reserve interest rate decisions, was up by more than 2 basis points at 4.2597%. The 30-year Treasury yield, which is typically more sensitive to geopolitical events, rose more than 3 basis points to 5.2790%.

One basis point equals 0.01%, or 1/100th of 1%, and yields and prices move inversely to one another. The rise in borrowing costs comes as hopes of a deal to end the conflict in the Middle East appeared to fade this week, after President Donald Trump responded to Iranian demands for reparations by suggesting Tehran itself must pay the U.S. compensation for the war.

Oil prices moved higher on Tuesday following Trump's comments that the U.S. now has control of the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were last seen 1.78% higher in early trade at $83.58, while Brent crude futures, the international price benchmark, rose 1.81% to $89.25 per barrel.

Government bond yields finished Monday's session higher, with both 10-year and 30-year Treasury yields up 4 basis points. As markets digest Trump's compensation demands and the impact of the latest Middle East developments on the inflation picture and the Fed's interest rate path, traders are also awaiting more domestic economic data releases this week. Ahead of the core monthly and yearly inflation print for July, due out Wednesday, existing home sales data is expected later Tuesday, with July's number expected to come in at 4.04 million, down slightly from the previous month's 4.09 million.