The Treasury market was well bid Tuesday, even ahead of $62 billion in auctions this week. Ordinarily Fed officials talking hawkishly might get more notice, but the market totally ignored Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Patrick Harker, a voting member who said Monday he believes the Fed should consider a rate hike in March.
“The bond market is cranky about Washington. I think that’s the main driver. The Fed has limited credibility in terms of its hawkishness … there are things in the economy that are doing better … but there’s skepticism about Washington and there’s skepticism about Trump and there’s some discomfort with him,” said David Ader, chief macro strategist at Informa Financial Intelligence.