Treasurys Surge as Investors, Traders Adjust Positions Ahead of Fed Meeting, Labor Report
NEW YORK -- Prices of Treasurys surged as investors and traders adjusted positions ahead of important events this week, ranging from a meeting of Federal Reserve policy makers to a Labor Department update on employment growth.</br></br>Late yesterday, the benchmark 30-year Treasury bond gained 27/32, or $8.4375 for each $1,000 in face value. Its yield fell to 6.090% from 6.158% late Friday, as bond yields move inversely to prices.</br></br>Today, in what likely will be the main focus for the bond market, Fed officials begin a two-day meeting to discuss monetary policy. People in the market expect the Fed to raise short-term interest rates after Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan recently cited the need for a pre-emptive policy.</br></br>Most analysts expect the Fed to raise its target for the federal funds rate, or the rate financial institutions pay on overnight loans, by a quarter percentage point.</br></br>Yesterday, as people fine-tuned positions ahead of the Fed meeting, the market saw a "technical rebound," said Dennis Hynes, chief market strategist at R.W. Pressprich & Co., New York.