The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose Monday as investors weighed concerns over tariffs and comments by President Donald Trump criticizing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was 8 basis points higher at 4.409%. The 2-year Treasury yield was 3 basis points lower to 3.764%.
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WATCH HEREOne basis point is equal to 0.01%. Yields and prices move in opposite directions. Bond markets were closed on Friday for the Easter holiday.
Trump on Monday ramped up his attacks on Powell, calling him a "major loser" and urging him to lower rates immediately in a Truth Social post. "With these costs trending so nicely downward, just what I predicted they would do, there can almost be no inflation, but there can be a SLOWING of the economy unless Mr. Too Late, a major loser, lowers interest rates, NOW," Trump wrote.
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The increasing tension sent ripples through other markets too. Stocks sold off, while the dollar reached levels not seen in three years. Gold, meanwhile, spiked to a record high above $3,400 per ounce.
"President Trump's increasingly confrontational posture against Fed Chair Jerome Powell makes investors wonder if the central bank's inflation mandate will go out the window during his term," wrote Interactive Brokers senior economist José Torres. "The perception of an incremental shift toward allowing elevated price increase rates is clouding the fundamentals of global safe-haven assets and contributing further to yet another record for gold."
Trump on Friday levied another salvo at Powell for not lowering interest rates. The president vocalized his discontent with the Fed chair's economic policy leadership during a Q-and-A session with reporters.
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"If we had a Fed Chairman that understood what he was doing, interest rates would be coming down, too," Trump said, pointing to examples of falling prices. "He should bring them [interest rates] down."
White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett added on Friday that the president and his team were studying whether firing Powell was an option.
Powell last week sounded the alarm on growth and inflation risks as a result of the Trump administration's tariffs. He described a scenario in which the U.S. could find it difficult to balance the need to temper inflation and support growth.
