After failing to sustain an early move to the upside, treasuries showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Wednesday.
Bond prices spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before closing roughly flat. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, inched up by less than a basis point to 2.654 percent.
The choppy trading came as the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting provided further insight into the central bank's decision to change the forward guidance language and indicate a patient approach to raising interest rates.
The minutes described the Fed's discussions regarding changing the language in its statement from referencing "further gradual increases" in rates to a sentence indicating patience.
Meeting participants pointed to a variety of considerations that supported a patient approach to monetary policy as an appropriate step in managing various risks and uncertainties in the outlook.
The Fed said additional data would help policymakers gauge the trajectory of business and consumer sentiment, whether the recent softness in core and total inflation and inflation compensation would persist, and the effect of the tightening of financial conditions on aggregate demand.
Information arriving in coming months could also shed light on the economic impact of the prolonged government shutdown as well as the results of budget negotiations occurring in the wake of the shutdown, including the possible implications for the path of fiscal policy, the Fed said.
"A patient approach would have the added benefit of giving policymakers an opportunity to judge the response of economic activity and inflation to the recent steps taken to normalize the stance of monetary policy," the minutes said.
The minutes said a patient posture would also allow time for a clearer picture of the international trade policy situation and the state of the global economy to emerge.
In light of a range of uncertainties associated with global economic and financial developments, the Fed also decided that it was not useful to express a judgment about the balance of risks.
However, many participants observed that if recent uncertainty eases, the Fed would need to reassess the characterization of monetary policy as "patient" and might then use different statement language.
The minutes of the January meeting also showed officials discussed a plan to end the reduction of bonds on the Fed's balance sheet before the end of 2019
"Almost all participants thought that it would be desirable to announce before too long a plan to stop reducing the Federal Reserve's asset holdings later this year," the Fed said.
The central bank added, "Such an announcement would provide more certainty about the process for completing the normalization of the size of the Federal Reserve's balance sheet."
Traders also seemed reluctant to make significant moves as they wait for developments regarding the latest round of trade talks between the U.S. and China.
Officials from the U.S. and China are meeting in Washington this week as the world's two largest economies attempt to reach a long-term trade deal.
The U.S. and China currently face an early March deadline to strike an agreement, although President Donald Trump has suggested the deadline could be postponed.
A slew of economic data is likely to attract attention on Thursday, with traders likely to keep an eye on reports on weekly jobless claims, durable goods orders, and existing home sales.
