24.05.201821:14:00UTC+00U.S. Treasury Yields Drop on Trade Jitters, Dovish Fed Minutes

U.S. Treasury yields dropped on Thursday on safety buying after President Donald Trump called off a planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and minutes from the Federal Reserve's recent meeting stoked appetite for U.S. government paper.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to price, fell to 2.977 percent, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was lower at 3.128 percent.

The yield on the two-year note hit a new low of 2.496 percent, its lowest level since May 7, when the two-year note yielded as low as 2.493 percent.

Earlier on Thursday, North Korea repeated a threat to pull out of the unprecedented summit with Trump next month and warned it was prepared for a nuclear showdown with Washington if necessary.

A number of Fed policymakers, including Chairman Jerome Powell, have been keen to stress they will tolerate inflation rising above the Fed's goal for a time without undue concern.

An additional two rate hikes this year, including one in June, are widely expected.

The Treasury Department auctioned $30 billion in seven-year notes at a high yield of 2.93 percent. The bid-to-cover ratio, an indicator of demand, was 2.62. Indirect bidders, which include major central banks, were awarded 65.5 percent. Direct bidders, which includes domestic money managers, bought 12.9 percent.