U.S. Treasury prices slid Tuesday as investors looked ahead to a fresh quarter, but briefly pared losses after a round of softer economic news. The 10-year note (10_YEAR) yield, which rises as prices fall, was up 4 basis points on the day at 2.556%, after the benchmark yield marked its biggest first-half drop in four years.

With the boost from month-end and quarter-end purchases on Monday fading, U.S. government debt prices weakened overnight. Treasurys pushed lower after a U.K. manufacturing report jumped unexpectedly in June.

Treasurys briefly cut losses after a trio of U.S. economic news. Manufacturing companies grew at a slower pace in June; the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index unexpectedly slipped to 55.3% in June, from 55.4% in May. But in a sign of future economic strength, new orders jumped to the highest level since the end of 2013.

Construction spending rose 0.1% in May, below economist expectations of a 0.7% reading. The final U.S. Markit manufacturing PMI slipped to 57.3 in June, from a preliminary reading of 57.5, but nonetheless posted the highest monthly reading since 2010.

More broadly, improvement in economic indicators has quickened in recent months, suggesting a pickup in the economy after growth contracted in the first quarter. However, investors have continued to expect that the Federal Reserve will maintain its low-rate monetary policies until it sees signs that labor-force weaknesses have vanished. Growing wages, as measured in monthly jobs reports through average hourly earnings, would be one sign of that improvement.

Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen will speak on Wednesday, and the Labor Department will release its monthly jobs report for June on Thursday.

The 30-year bond (30_YEAR) yield rose 5 basis points to 3.387% and the 5-year note (5_YEAR) yield rose 2.5 basis points to 1.651%, according to Tradeweb

By Ben Eisen, MarketWatch