Treasuries Close Modestly Higher Following Last Week's Pullback

(RTTNews) - Treasuries moved modestly higher during trading on Monday, regaining some ground after coming under pressure last week.

Bond prices moved to the upside in early trading and managed to remain in positive territory throughout the session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, edged down by 1.8 basis points to 2.602 percent.

The modest strength among treasuries came on the heels of the notable downward move seen following last Wednesday's monetary policy announcement from the Federal Reserve.

Trading activity remained somewhat subdued, however, as traders looked ahead to the release of the October jobs report on Friday along with separate reports on service sector activity, personal income and spending, and consumer sentiment.

With the data seen as old news, traders largely shrugged off a Commerce Department report on factory orders in August and September.

The report said factory orders jumped by 1.7 percent in September after edging down by 0.1 percent in August. While the increase in orders in September matched economist estimates, orders had been expected to rise by 0.3 percent in the previous month.

The Commerce Department combined the data for August and September into a single report as a result of the government shutdown.

Meanwhile, Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher delivered a speech in Sydney, Australia criticizing the "ineffective" and "counterproductive" U.S. government for hampering the economic recovery.

"The inability of our government to get its act together has countered the pro-cyclical role of the Federal Reserve," Fisher said.

"We have had to carry the ball solo," he added. "This is an unhealthy thing for any central bank and comes with not insignificant risks."

Trading on Tuesday may be impacted by reaction to the Institute for Supply Management's report on service sector activity in the month of October.