2020.01.2719:29:00UTC+00Treasuries Move Notably Higher Amid Growing Coronavirus Concerns

Treasuries moved significantly higher during trading on Monday, extending the strong upward move seen over the past few sessions.

Bond prices moved to the upside early in the session and remained firmly positive throughout the day. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, slumped by 7.6 basis points to 1.605 percent.

With the notable decrease on the day, the ten-year yield ended the session at its lowest closing level in over three months.

Treasuries continued to benefit from their appeal as a safe haven amid growing concerns about the coronavirus outbreak in China.

Chinese officials said the death toll from the new coronavirus has jumped to 81, with more than 2,800 people infected globally.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report unexpectedly showing a modest decrease in new home sales in the month of December.

The report said new home sales fell by 0.4 percent to an annual rate of 694,000 in December from a downwardly revised 697,000 in November.

The drop surprised economists, who had expected new home sales to surge up by 1.5 percent to an annual rate of 730,000 in December from the 719,000 originally reported for the previous month.

Revised data also showed new home sales slumped by 1.1 percent in November compared to the previously reported 1.3 percent jump.

Meanwhile, bond traders largely shrugged off the results of the Treasury Department's auction of two-year and five-year notes, which attracted mixed demand.

Reports on durable goods orders and consumer confidence may attract some attention on Tuesday, although the data could be overshadowed by news about the coronavirus outbreak.

The Treasury Department is also due to announce the results of this month's auction of $32 billion worth of seven-year notes.