Treasury yields rise as traders weigh latest on U.S.-Iran war, Warsh hearing
Traders are monitoring Federal Reserve chair nominee Kevin Warsh's confirmation hearing on Tuesday.
Konoly
Construction work continues at the Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve building in Washington, DC, on Dec. 30, 2025.
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Treasury yields ticked higher Tuesday as investors sought clarity over the state of U.S.-Iran discussions around an end to the war.
The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note — the key benchmark for U.S. government borrowing — was up more than 6 basis points at 4.313%.
The 2-year Treasury note yield, which more closely tracks short-term Federal Reserve interest rate policy, was more than 8 basis points higher at 3.802%. The longer-dated 30-year Treasury bond yield climbed more than 3 basis points to 4.916%.
One basis point is equal to 0.01%, and yields and prices move in opposite directions.
On Tuesday, Iranian state media reported that Iran would not be attending peace talks in Islamabad, saying that attending them is a "waste of time." Multiple reports also said Vice President JD Vance's trip to the talks was put on hold.
Later in the day, President Donald Trump said the ceasefire between the two nations would be extended "until such time as [Iran's] proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other." This, he said in a Truth Social post, is based "on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured."
Trump had previously said the two-week deal agreed between the U.S. and Iran was set to expire Wednesday.
Elsewhere, traders monitored Federal Reserve chair nominee Kevin Warsh's confirmation hearing on Tuesday. During the hearing, Warsh said Trump has never asked him to "predetermine, commit, fix, decide on any interest rate decision in any of our discussions" and that he wouldn't agree to ever make such a decision simply because the president asked him to.
In his prepared statement to the Senate Banking committee released Monday, the former Fed governor said the U.S. central bank must be largely independent of political influence, while also staying focused on its primary goals.
"The Fed must stay in its lane," he said. "Fed independence is placed at greatest risk when it strays into fiscal and social policies where it has neither authority nor expertise."
Trump told CNBC Tuesday he'll be disappointed if Warsh doesn't immediately cut rates if appointed as the central bank's chief.
— CNBC's Lisa Kailai Han and Justina Lee also contributed to this report.
