NEW YORK, May 20 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury yields rose

on Monday as investors likely sold government bonds to buy new

corporate debt, while Federal Reserve officials pointed to

uncertainty over the central bank's ability to cut interest

rates if inflation remains sticky.

But with no U.S. economic data releases on both Monday and

Tuesday, investors were bracing for overall quiet trading

sessions ahead of Wednesday's publication of minutes of the

Fed's most recent policy meting, which may provide more insight

on the central bank's views on the path of interest rates.

"It's very quiet ... I think the selling probably has more

to do with new issue deals announced this morning," said Tony

Farren, managing director at Mischler Financial Group, referring

to a slate of new corporate bond sales announced on Monday.

Investors expected a period of consolidation in Treasuries

after softening consumer prices last month strengthened

expectations that the Federal Reserve may be able to cut

interest rates twice this year.

Still, yields - which move inversely to prices - may react

to Fed officials' remarks that could provide hints on future

monetary policy decisions.

"While the lack of any obvious triggers for price action

might conform well with our range-trading thesis, we're all too

cognizant of the long list of Fed-speakers," BMO Capital Markets

strategists said in a note.

"The headlines associated with the various public

appearances will be followed for any tradable insight, although

we're skeptical that the net takeaway from the market's

perspective will be anything other than 'higher-for-longer' as

more evidence is needed on the inflation front before cuts are

seriously considered," they wrote.

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said in an interview on

Monday that "it will take a while" for the Fed to be confident

that inflation is on track back to the central bank's 2% goal.

Fed vice chair for supervision Michael Barr struck a similar

tone, saying that inflation data in the first months of this

year has been disappointing, leaving the central bank short of

the evidence it needs to ease monetary policy.

Traders of futures tied to the Fed's policy rate on Monday

saw a total of about 42 basis points of interest rate cuts this

year, down from over 50 basis points in the aftermath of data

last week showing U.S. consumer price inflation cooled in April.

Benchmark 10-year yields were last seen at

4.441%, about two basis points higher than Friday. Two-year

yields, which tend to more closely reflect monetary

policy expectations, were last at 4.835%, up one basis point.