US government bond prices rose on Wednesday after moderate inflation data indicated that investors will have to wait longer for the huge increase in consumer prices that many expect this year.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury benchmark note closed at 1.173%, according to Tradeweb, up from 1.174% before the data was released and 1.156% on Tuesday.
Yields, which fall when bond prices go up, fell after the Department of Labor said basic consumer prices, excluding the often volatile food and energy categories, remained unchanged in January compared to the previous month. Basic prices were also stable in December, after a downward revision of the previous estimate.
Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected a 0.1% increase in core prices in January.
Overall, the data indicates that “there is simply no significant real inflationary pressure,” said Thomas Simons, senior vice president and money market economist for the fixed income group at Jefferies LLC.