By Orla McCaffrey 

U.S. government bond prices edged higher Tuesday morning as investors awaited Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's semiannual testimony before Congress.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury was recently at 2.847%, according to Tradeweb, compared with 2.856% on Monday. Yields fall as bond prices rise.

Tuesday's testimony kicks off Mr. Powell's two-day visit to Capitol Hill, during which he will testify before the Senate Banking Committee and House Financial Services Committee.

"As Trump leaves Helsinki and a degree of calm descends on the geopolitical front, the market will undoubtedly refocus on the fundamentals of data and monetary policy," said Ian Lyngen, head of U.S. government bond strategy at BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a note Tuesday.

Investors will be paying close attention to Mr. Powell's comments on the potential for trade tensions to slow economic growth and the central bank's tolerance for rising inflation.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 17, 2018 10:27 ET (14:27 GMT)