The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield ticked lower on Tuesday as traders weighed a wholesale inflation report that came in above expectations.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped about four basis points to 4.445% after initially popping above the 4.5% level following the new data. The 2-year Treasury yield was last at 4.819% after sliding roughly three basis points.

Yields and prices have an inverted relationship. One basis point is equivalent to 0.01%.

April's producer price index, which tracks inflation on a wholesale level, rose 0.5%. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones were expecting a 0.3% increase in the month.

The March reading of the PPI was revised from an initially reported gain of 0.2% to a decline of 0.1%.

This is the first of two key inflation reports slated for the week, with the more closely followed consumer price index for April due Wednesday. According to a Dow Jones survey, economists are anticipating it will show a 3.4% increase in prices from a year ago and a 0.4% rise on a monthly basis.

Following Tuesday's PPI reading, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that U.S. central bank will need to practice patience in the face of inflation that has persisted at higher-than-expected levels.

That comes after the Fed said at its last meeting that there has been "a lack of further progress" in bringing inflation down to its 2% target. Policymakers have also repeatedly said that they are looking to data for evidence about inflationary pressures cooling before they feel ready to cut interest rates.

The data could, therefore, affect investor expectations about when rates may be cut and how many cuts could come this year.

— CNBC's Jeff Cox contributed reporting.