The good news this morning was that the bond yield held below 4.30% despite rising oil prices and a mixed August survey of small business owners conducted by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). Bond investors are patiently awaiting tomorrow's CPI. They might also have been calmed by a September 10 WSJ article suggesting that the FOMC isn't likely to raise the federal funds rate next week.
Meanwhile, Brent crude oil breached $90 a barrel last week for the first time in 10 months after Saudi Arabia and Russia announced they would extend a combined 1.3 million barrels per day of voluntary output cuts until the end of the year. November Brent crude futures gained $1.16, or 1.3%, to $91.80 a barrel this morning.
