BOND REPORT: Treasury Yields Rise As Investors Await Fed Statement

Private-sector employment rises 177,000 in April

Treasury yields edged up Wednesday ahead of the conclusion of a two-day meeting of Federal Reserve policy makers that's expected to see rates left unchanged.

The yield for the 10-year note gained a 1.6 basis point to 2.297%. Bond prices move in the opposite direction of yields. The Treasury yields for the 2-year note rose 2.0 basis points to 1.274%, while the 30-year bond edged off a 0.1 basis point 2.969%.

Behind closed doors, members of the Federal Open Market Committee will continue their deliberations on U.S. monetary policy. A statement from panel is set for release at 2 p.m. Eastern.

Analysts expect the Fed to keep its benchmark short-term interest rate unchanged, but will scrutinize the policy statement to get a read on the Fed's thoughts on the current health of the U.S. economy and how it plans to begin reducing its $4.5 trillion balance sheet.

Read:Fed to signal rate-hike plan in place despite soft economic data (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-to-signal-rate-hike-plan-in-place-despite-soft-economic-data-2017-04-27)

Payroll services provider ADP said private-sector employers added 177,000 jobs in April, down from 255,00 in March and the slowest pace in six months. Investors watch the ADP data for a clue to official nonfarm payrolls data, which includes government hiring, though the relationship between the ADP data and official figures has faded. Economists polled by MarketWatch expect the official jobs report on Friday to show the U.S. economy added 200,000 jobs in April after a gain of 98,000 in March.

See:Private-sector hiring slows to 177,000 in April, ADP says (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/private-sector-hiring-slows-to-177000-in-april-adp-says-2017-05-03)

Nonmanufacturing data from the Institute of Supply Management will give an idea of the strength of the U.S. services sector at 10:00 a.m. Eastern.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 03, 2017 09:27 ET (13:27 GMT)