Treasury yields rise after Powell signals more rate hikes ahead

U.S. Treasury yields rose Friday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell signaled more rate hikes could be ahead and reiterated his stance against inflation.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose nearly 2 basis points at 4.253%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond inched lower by about 1 basis point to 4.295%.

Meanwhile, the 2-year Treasury yield jumped more than 6 basis points at 5.08%. That was the highest level going back to July 6 when the 2-year yielded as high as 5.12%.

The spread between the 2-year and 10-year Treasury yield also widened to -83.50. That’s the deepest inversion since Aug. 10 when the gap widened to -88.20.

Yields move inversely to prices.

Investors digested Powell’s comments at the Kansas City Fed’s annual retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyoming that warned there could still be further rate hikes ahead. While Powell said the central bank could be flexible, he said it still has further to go to fight inflation.

“Although inflation has moved down from its peak — a welcome development — it remains too high,” Powell said in prepared remarks. “We are prepared to raise rates further if appropriate, and intend to hold policy at a restrictive level until we are confident that inflation is moving sustainably down toward our objective.”

A recent surge took 10-year yields to their highest level since November 2007 earlier this week, as investors grappled with a surprisingly resilient U.S. economy and the possibility that sticky inflation could force the central bank to keep interest rates higher for longer.

— CNBC’s Jeff Cox and Gina Francolla contributed to this report.