Why Treasury Yields Are Declining

U.S. government bond yields have been moving lower since late May, with the latest push coming from a weaker retail sales report.

The 10-year Treasury yield was down 3.7 basis points to 4.427% on Tuesday as data showed consumers spent less money last month than expected. Weaker economic data typically push investors into safer assets like Treasuries and lower the yields. Yields move in the opposite direction of bond prices.

The decline follows a recent trend. For context, the 10-year yield has moved as low as 4.35% recently after hitting a peak of 4.58% on May 21. The lower yield could in part be attributed to the solid buyer base that the Treasury has seen at its auctions; it's effectively put a pause on chatter about investors moving away from U.S. debt.