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2018.02.1415:20:00UTC+00Treasuries Move Sharply Lower Following Inflation Data

Treasuries moved sharply lower over the course of the trading session on Wednesday following the release of a highly anticipated report on consumer price inflation.

Bond prices came under pressure early in the session and saw further downside as the day progressed. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, jumped by 7.3 basis points to 2.913 percent.

With the significant increase during the session, the ten-year yield climbed to its highest closing level in four years.

The weakness among treasuries came after the Labor Department released a report showing a bigger than expected increase in consumer prices in the month of January.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index climbed by 0.5 percent in January after edging up by a revised 0.2 percent in December.

Economists had expected consumer prices to rise by 0.3 percent compared to the 0.1 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.

Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices rose by 0.3 percent in January after inching up by 0.2 percent in December. Core prices had been expected to increase by 0.2 percent.

Compared to the same month a year ago, consumer prices were up by 2.1 percent in January, while core consumer prices were up by 1.8 percent.

"Once temporary factors drop out of the annual comparison in the spring, core CPI inflation will be close to 2.5% and we expect it to trend higher from there," said Michael Pearce, Senior U.S. Economist at Capital Economics.

He added, "We expect that will force the Fed to raise rates a total of four times this year, beginning with a 25bp rise in interest rates at the March FOMC meeting."

A separate report from the Commerce Department showed an unexpected decrease in retail sales in the month of January.

The Commerce Department said retail sales fell by 0.3 percent in January compared to economist estimates for a 0.2 percent uptick in sales.

Revised data showed that retail sales were unchanged in December compared to the previously reported 0.4 percent increase.

Excluding a decrease in sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales were unchanged in January after inching up by 0.1 percent in December. Ex-auto sales had been expected to climb by 0.4 percent.

Trading on Thursday may be impacted by reaction to another batch of key economic data, including reports on producer prices, industrial production and homebuilder confidence.

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