The yield on the US 10-year Treasury note was trading around 3.8%, the highest in 3 months while the 2-year yield hit inched toward 4.8%, approaching the 15-year high of 5% hit in early March as investors are expecting the interest rates to rise further and remain elevated for longer. During the testimony to Congress, Fed Chair Powell reinforced last week’s message that interest rates will need to rise further this year to fight high inflation. Powell also said two more rate hikes this year was “a pretty good guess”. Meanwhile, data showed initial jobless claims came only slightly higher than forecasts while continuing claims actually surprised on the downside. Also, the housing sector seems to be stabilizing, with existing home sales, building permits, housing starts, and the NAHB Housing Market Index topping expectations. Elsewhere, central banks in the UK and Norway hiked rates by 50bps, more than expected.
