Not Eager to Challenge The Range, But Bank Rumors Complicate The Outlook

After yesterday's Fed announcement and press conference, longer-term bond yields moved quickly into a position to challenge the prevailing range floor which can be viewed as anything within 5-6 bps of 3.34%.  Yields haven't spent more than 2 days below that level since September and we wouldn't be shocked if they'd need more convincing from the upcoming data or a more serious turn of events in the banking sector. 

After a flat overnight session, this morning's data and events helped to reinforce the floor.  While the market continues to wait on the long-expected showdown with NFP and next week's CPI, new bank headlines are causing additional volatility in the AM hours.  Whether fabrication, truth, or something in between, FT.com is reporting a potential sale of Western Alliance.  The bank denied the rumor, but the market response remains intact.  It was the biggest volume surge of the day so far.