Treasury yields are little changed after recent volatility

Treasury yields wavered on Tuesday, a reprieve amid a period of volatility in the bond market.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield slipped around 2 basis points to 4.343%. The 2-year Treasury yield pulled back by about 1 basis point to 3.82%.

One basis point is equal to 0.01% and yields move inversely to prices.

The development follows a week of volatility in the bond market, which saw an over 50 basis point surge in the 10-year Treasury yield.

Although President Donald Trump’s 90-day tariff pause on tariffs briefly pulled yields lower, the 10-year yield still rebounded to finish above 4.5% on Friday.

The scale of the sell-offs fueled questions about who are the ones letting go of Treasurys.

“Investors in the U.S. have worried for decades that holdings of U.S governments by Chinese and Japanese investors were at risk,” said Carol Schleif, chief market strategist at BMO Private Wealth.

China is America’s second largest foreign creditor after Japan, holding about $760 billion in Treasury securities.

Additionally, the combination of debt concerns and hedge fund selling could have contributed to the sell-off in Treasurys, said Felix Brill, chief investment officer at VP Bank.

“For instance, we have seen an increase in CDS spreads for U.S. debt, and from past episodes, we know that margin calls and the need for liquidity can lead to additional market stress,” he told CNBC.