U.S. Government Bond Prices Tick Higher

U.S. government bonds edged higher Monday as investors continued to dial back their appetite for riskier assets.

In recent trading, the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was 2.185%, according to Tradeweb, compared with 2.196% Friday.

Yields -- which fall when bond prices rise -- remained within a tight trading range but were at the bottom end of that range as U.S. stocks wavered again following declines over the past two weeks.

Treasurys frequently benefit when stocks fall, as investors look for alternatives that offer steadier returns.

In recent weeks, demand for riskier assets has been hurt by a variety of developments, including some disappointing corporate earnings, terrorist attacks in Spain, and fallout from President Donald Trump's controversial response to the violence in Charlottesville, Va.

"Treasurys have been firm," said Larry Milstein, head of government and agency trading at R.W. Pressprich & Co. "Part of it clearly has been political uncertainty and the headlines we've been seeing that have caused some flight to safety."

With no major economic data scheduled to be released over the next several days, many investors are focused on Friday, when Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi are both scheduled to speak at the Fed's annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo.

Ms. Yellen is scheduled to talk first and deliver remarks on financial stability, a topic that has come under increased focus since Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley said last week that rising asset prices suggested the Fed likely needed to do more to tighten financial conditions.

Write to Sam Goldfarb at sam.goldfarb@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 21, 2017 11:44 ET (15:44 GMT)