(Jan 6): US Treasuries slumped, lifting the yield on 30-year bonds to the highest since late 2023, as a rattled market prepares for US$119 billion (RM535.28 billion) of fresh government debt issuance this week.

The 30-year rate climbed as much as four basis points to 4.85%, the most since November 2023, before a US$58 billion sale of three-year notes on Monday. The Treasury will also auction 10-year notes on Tuesday and 30-year bonds on Wednesday, each a day earlier than normal due to Thursday’s state funeral of former president Jimmy Carter.

The uptick in yields adds further pressure to US debt, which has come under scrutiny in recent weeks over concerns the incoming Trump administration will reignite inflation. Traders are closely watching comments from Donald Trump himself and his proxies around their appetite for lower taxes and higher trade tariffs — both of which could spur price increases.

That angst saw the 10-year yield surge around 50 basis points since early December to 4.62%. And Treasuries almost erased their gains for the year, finishing 2024 up just 0.6%.

Any resurgence of inflation would likely slow the pace of interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. The US central bank has dialed back its expectations for easing in 2025, and markets now fully price just one reduction this year.

“Bond investors may be facing a lose-lose dynamic coming out of Washington. A smooth passage of big spending plans would hurt, but so might political chaos that brings debt-ceiling angst back into play,” said Garfield Reynolds, Team Leader of Markets Live Asia at Bloomberg Strategists.

Comments from Fed officials over the weekend, including San Francisco Fed president Mary Daly, reinforced that view, and futures traders anticipate that policymakers could hold rates steady until as late as June.

“A hawkish Fed December meeting and concerns over the US fiscal picture have led to an upward pressure on rates,” said Mohit Kumar, chief economist at Jefferies International.

Uploaded by Felyx Teoh