Treasury yields moved higher on Wednesday as the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged and upped its assessment of the U.S. economy.
The 10-year Treasury yield was up 2 basis points at 4.243%, while the 2-year Treasury note yield was up less than 1 basis point at 3.575%. The 30-year Treasury yield rose 2 basis points to 4.854%.
One basis point is equal to 0.01%, and yields and prices move in opposite directions.
The central bank's Federal Open Market Committee voted to keep its key interest rate in a range between 3.5%-3.75%. The committee also upped its assessment of economic growth.
"Available indicators suggest that economic activity has been expanding at a solid pace. Job gains have remained low, and the unemployment rate has shown some signs of stabilization," the post-meeting statement said. "Inflation remains somewhat elevated."Â
The Fed statement also erased a clause indicating that the committee saw a higher risk to a weakening labor market than heightened inflation.
"I think, and many of my colleagues think, it's hard to look at the incoming data and say the policy is significantly restrictive at this time," Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a press conference.
President Donald Trump told CNBC last week that he may have found a successor to Powell, but it's unclear when he will announce the nomination.
"No matter who takes over from Powell, the Fed will ultimately make similar decisions on interest rates regardless," said Tom Graff, chief investment officer at Facet. "If the economy deteriorates from here, the Fed could wind up cutting several times over the course of 2026. But if the economy stays strong, I'd only expect 1-3 cuts."
Investors have been monitoring the performance of the U.S. dollar after the currency posted its worst day since last April on Tuesday with a more than 1% drop. Its one-year fall now stands at more than 10%.
Tuesday's move came on the heels of Trump failing to say that the currency had gone too far in its fall, instead viewing it as "doing great."
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC Wednesday that he believes the U.S. has a "strong dollar policy."
"If we have sound policies, the money will flow in," he said. "We are bringing down our trade deficits, so ... automatically that should lead to more dollar strength over time."
— CNBC's Jeff Cox contributed to this report.