By Ira Iosebashvili 

U.S. government bond prices edged higher Wednesday, as traders awaited the end of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was recently at 2.819%, according to Tradeweb, after settling at 2.825% Monday -- its lowest close since August. Yields fall when bond prices rise.

While most investors expect the Fed to raise rates Wednesday afternoon, many are also hoping for a glimpse of the central bank's views on the health of the U.S. economy and the recent turbulence in global markets.

Fears that the Fed will keep on tightening at its current pace into next year have roiled stocks and sent investors into Treasurys, driving bond yields lower.

Some Fed officials have said in recent months that rates are close to a so-called neutral level, at which they neither speed nor hamper economic growth. That has led to speculation that the Fed could stop raising rates and wait for signs of accelerating inflation before moving again.

"Investors are trying to gauge how the [Fed] will balance asset market fears and softening growth abroad against still-robust incoming economic data," analysts at Standard Chartered said in a note to clients.

Most investors expect "significant changes in the statement language to indicate a pause is likely after a small number of hikes," the bank said.

Write to Ira Iosebashvili at ira.iosebashvili@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 19, 2018 11:02 ET (16:02 GMT)

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