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U.S. longer-dated bonds rally as Fed keeps option on June hike

April 27, 2016 3:17 PM EDT

The Federal Reserve building in Washington September 1, 2015. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

By Richard Leong

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Longer-dated U.S. Treasury debt prices jumped on Wednesday, snapping a seven-day streak of losses, as the Federal Reserve left the door open for an interest rate increase in June, making shorter-dated government debt less appealing.

A wave of buying in 10- and 30-year Treasuries emerged as traders piled into curve-flattening trades that favor these longer debt maturities over short-dated ones, investors said.

"The curve is flattening here, which is what has happened in the past when the Fed was on a tightening path," said Don Ellenberger, head of multi-sector strategies at Federated Investors in Pittsburgh.

The Fed's policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee, as expected, left its target range on rates unchanged at 0.25-0.50 percent and removed a specific reference on the global economic risks in its policy statement.

"The committee continues to closely monitor inflation indicators and global economic and financial developments," the Fed's policy-setting panel said in a statement following its two-day meeting.

The yield difference between shorter and longer-dated Treasuries shrank, with the gap between two-year and 10-year yields contracting to 102 basis points, its tightest in 1-1/2 weeks, according to Reuters data.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes were up 20/32 in price, yielding 1.856 percent, down 7.5 basis points from late on Tuesday. The 10-year yield on Tuesday touched 1.941 percent, its highest level since March 23, according to Reuters.

(This story corrects first paragraph to say Treasuries prices snapped a 7-day streak of decreases)

(Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Chris Reese and Leslie Adler)



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