NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Treasury prices fell Tuesday after a round of mixed economic data, pushing the benchmark yield to its highest close in over two years as the broader bond market careened to its worst yearly loss since 1994.

The Barclays U.S. Aggregate index, which follows the broader bond market, is down 1.92% on the year through Dec. 30, its first loss since 1999 and worst loss since 1994. The Barclays U.S. Treasury Index fell 2.63%, its worst performance since 2009.

Treasury yields began rising sharply in May as the Federal Reserve signaled that it may slow its bond-buying stimulus program. The wind-down of that program was announced earlier in December, pushing the 10-year Treasury note US:10_YEAR yield to close above 3% for the first time since 2011.

“The Fed was definitely the tail that was wagging the dog in 2013,” said Wilmer Stith, co-manager of Wilmington Broad Market Bond Fund.

The benchmark 10-year note yield, which rises as prices fall, was up 5 basis points Tuesday at 3.026%, according to Tradeweb, as it continued to crisscross the 3% threshold that has become emblematic of a rising-rate environment.

The benchmark note closed out the year roughly 127 basis points higher than where it began, the quarter 42 basis points higher, and the month 28 basis points higher, according to FactSet.

“10-year Treasury yields at 3% leaves us on the cusp of a renewed push to new highs in yield, the next level being the 3.2% high from July 1 2011, ahead of a more serious break to the 3.60/70% high area from Feb-April 2011,” said Richard Gilhooly, U.S. director of interest-rate strategy at TD Securities, in a note.

The 30-year bond US:30_YEAR yield rose 6 basis points on the day to 3.964%, according to Tradeweb. The 5-year note US:5_YEAR yield rose 3.5 basis points to 1.748%.

Data released on Tuesday were mixed. The Conference Board said that consumer confidence regained its momentum as its index jumped to 78.1% in December from 72.0% in November.

A survey on business conditions in the Chicago area fell in December, but remained strong. The Chicago Business Barometer slipped to 59.1% from 63.0% in the previous month.

The Case-Shiller home-prices index rose 0.2% in October and 13.6% in the past 12 months, the largest yearly gain since February 2006. Nonetheless, the report was cautious about the pace of price increases in 2014.

Improving data in recent months prompted the Fed to announce that it would begin tapering its $85 billion in monthly bond-buying stimulus by $10 billion. The central bank said it would keep its key policy rate low until the unemployment rate falls well below 6.5%.

“Investors have already ‘priced in’ both the Fed’s taper announcement and the economy’s improved economic growth. This has helped temper the recent rise in interest rates,” said William Riegel and Lisa Black, of TIAA-CREF, in a Monday note.

Going forward, the market will look for steady economic improvement, said Stith, of Wilmington. I the economic accelerated quickly, the market is likely to begin pricing in an earlier shift in monetary policies by the Fed, which could lead to tighter financial conditions that impede the recovery.

“The sticky wicket is that we have to have the economy continue to simmer. It can’t go to a full boil,” Stith said.

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