10-year Treasury yield is flat after PCE inflation report is mostly as expected

Treasury yields were little changed Wednesday, as investors assessed the latest inflation metric.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note — the key benchmark for mortgages, auto loans and credit card debt — was little changed at 4.645%.

The longer-dated 30-year Treasury bond yield was also flat at 5.175%, while the yield on the 2-year Treasury note was unchanged at 4.205%.

One basis point equals 0.01%, or 1/100th of 1%, and yields and prices move inversely to one another.

July's personal consumption expenditure reading — the Fed's preferred inflation gauge — showed only a slight increase Wednesday.

Developments in the Middle East and the Fed's upcoming Jackson Hole conference are also in focus for the bond market this week.

Oil prices — which have spiked this year, fueling inflation fears and pushing global bond yields higher — extended declines on Tuesday, amid reports that Iran and Oman are nearing a deal to secure safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent futures, the international benchmark, fell 2.8% to $86.08 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 3% at $79.93 a barrel.

Investors will be monitoring the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium, which begins on Thursday, for clues on the direction of U.S. monetary policy and inflation expectations. On Friday, Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh will deliver a speech at the event.