(Updates throughout, adds Powell comments, analyst reaction) By Ross Kerber Feb 23 (Reuters) - Longer-term U.S. Treasury yields fell on Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the economy still needed central bank support. The benchmark 10-year yield was down a basis point at 1.3585% in early afternoon trading. It touched a high of 1.389% early Tuesday before Powell testified at a U.S. Senate Banking Committee hearing in Washington. Powell said interest rates would remain low and the Fed"s bond purchases would continue "at least at the current pace until we make substantial further progress towards our goals ... which we have not really been making." Analysts said the market"s move showed that Powell"s remarks reinforced status quo expectations, that the Fed remains dovish despite some inflation concerns. "His basic stance was the same and it provided some reassurance to the bond market," said Julia Coronado, president of analysis firm Macropolicy Perspectives. "In Powell"s even-keeled way he said, "Our job is far from over. We"re going to be here buying Treasuries for some time."" Expectations of a consumer price uptick have significantly boosted yields on longer-term U.S. debt since the summer. Shortly before Powell"s testimony, the 30-year bond yield hit 2.34%, the highest since early January 2020. It was still up 2.2 basis points at 2.2017% early Tuesday afternoon, reflecting investors" longer-term inflation expectations. The Nasdaq composite index fell more than 2% as investors sold off mega-cap growth stocks on valuation concerns. A closely watched part of the U.S. Treasury yield curve measuring the gap between yields on two- and 10-year Treasury notes, seen as an indicator of economic expectations, was at 124 basis points, about a basis point below Monday"s close. The two-year U.S. Treasury yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, was unchanged at 0.1149%. February 23 Tuesday 12:45PM New York / 1745 GMT Price Current Net Yield % Change (bps) Three-month bills 0.0325 0.033 0.000 Six-month bills 0.05 0.0507 0.003 Two-year note 100-5/256 0.1149 0.000 Three-year note 99-184/256 0.2199 -0.005 Five-year note 99-2/256 0.5793 -0.018 Seven-year note 98-112/256 0.9837 -0.011 10-year note 97-212/256 1.3585 -0.010 20-year bond 97-120/256 2.0298 0.011 30-year bond 92-220/256 2.2017 0.022 DOLLAR SWAP SPREADS Last (bps) Net Change (bps) U.S. 2-year dollar swap 9.25 0.25 spread U.S. 3-year dollar swap 10.75 0.00 spread U.S. 5-year dollar swap 13.25 0.25 spread U.S. 10-year dollar swap 8.00 -0.25 spread U.S. 30-year dollar swap -24.50 -1.00 spread (Reporting by Ross Kerber in Boston; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Richard Chang)