2-year Treasury yield falls after consumer confidence miss

The 2-year U.S. Treasury yield edged lower on Tuesday as market participants parsed a weaker-than-expected consumer confidence report.

The yield on the 2-year Treasury was last more than 3 basis points lower at 3.544%. The 10-year Treasury yield hovered near the flatline at 3.73%.

Yields and prices move in opposite directions. One basis point is equivalent to 0.01%.

Treasurys

Consumer confidence slipped to its lowest level in more than three years for September, the Conference Board said Tuesday. The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index declined to 98.7 for September, down from 105.6 in August. A consensus estimate from Dow Jones called for a reading of 104.

The 10-year Treasury yield ended last week almost 8 basis points higher after the U.S. central bank lowered interest rates by 50 basis points on Wednesday. Markets had raised the probability of the outsized move ahead of the meeting, but the announcement came as a surprise to many economists.

Market participants have questioned whether the move was good news for the world's largest economy, or a sign it is weakening more severely than previously thought.

Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman on Tuesday expanded on her dissenting vote on the Fed's 50 basis point cut, and said she felt a more measured approach was warranted.

Bowman said she worried that the large cut "could be interpreted as a premature declaration of victory on our price-stability mandate." She added that "accomplishing our mission of returning to low and stable inflation at our 2 percent goal is necessary to foster a strong labor market and an economy that works for everyone in the longer term."

— CNBC's Jeff Cox, Brian Evans and Jenni Reid contributed to this report.