U.S. Treasury yields fell on Friday morning, with investors keeping an eye on who will be named Federal Reserve chair.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell 5.3 basis points to 1.534%. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond fell by 4.4 basis points to 1.929%. Yields move inversely to prices and 1 basis point is equal to 0.01%.
President Joe Biden is expected to announce his pick for Fed chair by the weekend.
Until recently, the current Fed Chairman Jerome Powell was expected to renominated to the role. However, Biden has also interviewed Fed Governor Lael Brainard for the job.
If Brainard is nominated as chair, many expect an even more dovish Fed, meaning this could slow down the pace at which the central bank tapers its bond-buying program and raises interest rates.
Yields were also lower, as a rise in coronavirus cases in Europe dented economic recovery sentiment. Austria announced Friday that it would enter its fourth national lockdown on Monday due to a surge in Covid infections.
There are no major economic data releases or bond auctions scheduled for Friday.
— CNBC’s Patti Domm and Yun Li contributed to this market report.