Treasurys flat after weak consumer confidence data

U.S. sovereign bonds edged higher after a report showed U.S. consumers were less confidante about the direction of the economy in September after hitting the highest level in nearly seven years last month.

The Conference Board says that its confidence index fell to 86.0, the first decline after four months of gains. It fell from a revised 93.4 in August, which had been the highest level since autumn 2007 before the Great Recession officially began in December 2007.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes (U.S.:US10Y) yielded 2.49 percent on Tuesday, having fallen 5 basis points to close at 2.48 percent on Monday.

Adding to concerns about Pimco's outflows, Morningstar downgraded the bond investment giant's flagship Total Return fund late on Monday, citing uncertainty regarding outflows following the departure of Pimco co-founder Bill Gross.

Deutsche Bank has forecast that investors will pull around 210 billion euro ($266 billion) from Pimco overall over the next two years.

U.S. Treasurys and other so-called safe-haven assets were boosted on Monday by Hong Kong's worst civil unrest since the 1960s. Pro-democracy protesters remained on the streets on Tuesday.

"With Chinese National Day (a public holiday) tomorrow, the likelihood of the crowds increasing is mounting," said Evan Lucas, market strategist at IG.