10-year Treasury yield is unchanged after Trump backtracks plans to axe Fed chief

The yield on the 10-year Treasury was unchanged on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump backtracked on comments he made about firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

The 10-year Treasury yield was unchanged at 4.387% after declining earlier in the day. The 2-year Treasury yield was 7 basis points higher at 3.859%.

One basis point equals 0.01%. Yields and prices move in opposite directions.

Investors have been on edge as Trump has taken shots at Powell, hinting at firing him recently. He also called the central bank leader a “major loser” on Monday, urging him to lower interest rates immediately.

White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett said on Friday that Trump and his aides were exploring the possibility of firing Powell.

However, investors were relieved after Trump walked back those comments on Tuesday, saying he has “no intention” of firing Powell. “Never did,” he added.

Critics have highlighted that removing Powell would be disastrous for U.S. markets, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren warning last week, “If Chairman Powell can be fired by the president of the United States, it will crash markets in the United States.”

Investor concerns were further eased after Trump said Tuesday that he is willing to take a less confrontational approach to trade talks with China. The president remarked that the current 145% tariff on Chinese imports is “very high, and it won’t be that high. … No, it won’t be anywhere near that high. It’ll come down substantially. But it won’t be zero.”

On Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent added that both countries have the chance to make “a big deal” on trade. “If they want to rebalance, let’s do it together,” he said.

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