10-year Treasury yield is little changed as oil prices cool

The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield backed off its highs and was last little changed Thursday afternoon as a rally in oil prices lost steam.

The 10-year yield — the main benchmark for mortgages, auto loans and credit card debt — was last down less than 1 basis point to 4.562%. The longer-dated 30-year Treasury bond yield, which is more sensitive to political risks, was last down more than 2 basis points to 5.09%.

The 2-year Treasury note yield, which typically is more sensitive to short-term Federal Reserve interest rate decisions, advanced more than 3 basis points at 4.072%.

One basis point is equal to 0.01%, and yields and prices move in opposite directions.

Bond yields retreated from their earlier highs as crude prices slipped. Earlier in the day, oil prices rose after Reuters reported, citing sources, that Iran’s supreme leader issued a directive to keep enriched uranium within the country. West Texas Intermediate futures settled down nearly 2% at $96.35 per barrel. Brent crude fell more than 2% to settle at $102.58.

Rates saw a sharp pull-back during the previous session, which came after global bond yields touched multi-decade highs earlier in the week on the back of renewed inflation fears.

The U.S. 30-year yield slipped more than 6 basis points on Wednesday, with the 10-year Treasury yield plunging more than 9 basis points on the day. The respite came as investors absorbed minutes from the April 27-28 Federal Open Market Committee, which showed that a majority of Fed officials anticipate interest rates rising should the Iran war drive inflation higher.