The yield on the 10-year Treasury was little changed on Tuesday as investors parsed the latest twists in President Donald Trump's tariff policy following a Supreme Court setback, while also bracing for his State of the Union address later in the day.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was up 1 basis point at 4.037%. The 30-year Treasury bond yield was less than 1 basis point lower at 4.688%. The 2-year Treasury note added more than 2 basis points to 3.463%.
One basis point is equal to 0.01%, and yields and prices move in opposite directions.
The Supreme Court last Friday struck down a significant share of Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs in a 6-3 decision, ruling that he had improperly relied on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to implement them.
A day later, Trump responded by announcing an increase in global tariffs to 15% from 10%, saying the new rate would take effect immediately and warning that further levies were on the way.
The president — who is set to address Congress Tuesday evening for the customary State of the Union speech — then said on Monday that countries seeking to "play games" after the court's decision "will be met with a much higher Tariff, and worse, than that which they just recently agreed to." That helped fuel the risk-off tone in markets.
Geopolitics remained central Tuesday, as speculation continued to climb regarding a potential U.S. strike on Iran.
Also on Tuesday, Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee said in remarks before the National Association for Business Economics that interest rate cuts should be on hold until there's more evidence that inflation is moving toward the Fed's 2% target.
"People express that prices are one of their most pressing concerns. Let's pay attention. Before we cut rates more to stimulate the economy, let's be sure inflation is heading back to 2%," he said.