Authorities bond yields are falling regardless of the specter of the Fed’s financial coverage judgment

US Treasury bond yields fell slightly early Wednesday as investors waited for the much-anticipated outcome of the Fed’s monetary policy meeting that afternoon.

The 10-year benchmark bond yield fell less than one basis point to 1.496% at 3:45 a.m. ET. The yield on the 30-year government bond fell to 2.195%. The returns move inversely to the prices.

The Federal Reserve Open Markets Committee will conclude its two-day monetary policy meeting on Wednesday afternoon at 2 p.m. ET with the release of its customary statement and quarterly economic forecast. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is scheduled to hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.

The Fed is not expected to do anything at this meeting, but economists expect the central bank to signal that it is starting to think about tapering bond purchases.

The Fed will also release new forecasts on Wednesday that could point to a possible first rate hike in 2023. Previously, the Fed officials had not agreed on a rate hike until 2023.

Scott Rüsterholz, portfolio manager at Insight Investment, said Tuesday that this was one of the most momentous Fed meetings in a while as the committee weighs these aspects of the dual mandate.

“There is enormous uncertainty: How much of the inflation is driven by temporary factors such as interruptions in the supply chain, and how much of the slower employment growth is driven by temporary measures such as increased unemployment benefits,” said Rüsterholz.

In the face of this uncertainty, Rüsterholz said his company expects the Fed to adopt a “patient tone” at this meeting, “to ensure that it does not overreact and slow the pace of the recovery.”

He added that Insight Investment did not expect the Fed to “rush to tighten” at the meeting. Instead, the company expected the central bank’s annual business symposium in Jackson Hole in August to be a more likely starting point for discussion of tapering, “which may pave the way for an official announcement by December this year.”

Meanwhile, building permits and housing starts dates are scheduled to be released in May at 8:30 a.m. ET. May import and export prices will also be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.

An auction for $ 35 billion on 119-day notes is due to take place on Wednesday.

– CNBC’s Patti Domm and Pippa Stevens contributed to this market report.