U.S. Treasury bond yields fell on Tuesday after a cool reading for May retail sales raised concerns about the strength of the economy.
The 10-year Treasury yield was more than 6 basis points lower at 4.215%. The 2-year Treasury note yield was down more than 5 basis points at 4.708%.
Yields and prices move in opposite directions. One basis point is equivalent to 0.01%.
Retail sales were up just 0.1% in May, below the 0.2% expected by economists, according to Dow Jones. There was also a downward revision to the April data, which now shows a 0.2% decline.
Signs of a weakening consumer could spur the Federal Reserve to cut rates later this year, potentially multiple times. Last week, the Fed held its benchmark policy rate steady at 5.25% to 5.50% and indicated that just one rate cut would take place this year.
Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari on Sunday told CBS News that it is a "reasonable prediction" that the U.S. central bank will cut interest rates once this year, waiting until December to do it.
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"We need to see more evidence to convince us that inflation is well on our way back down to 2%," Kashkari said in an interview with CBS' "Face the Nation" program.
Money Report
It is a short week in the U.S., with markets closed on Wednesday for the Juneteenth holiday.
